From Shinobi to Mage
by Myevltwin
Summary: Mages, Magic and Shinobi, Oh my!
1. Prologue

I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

From the minds of HumanWiki and Myevltwin.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing

Chapter 1

The storm had finally come and the rain fell from the heavens.

Naruto sat patiently on the hill top, his eyes closed, and his head held high. The war would soon end. The bloody war that had been fought over the ideal of peace and justice was at long last going to end.

Four years the war had been fought. Every bloody inch that was lost or taken was destroyed in an instant. Through the sweat, the tears, the heartaches, and the bravery of each and every shinobi who fought in the war, they had grown weary that it would never end in their victory. The victory they wanted seemed as nothing more than a laughable illusion cast down by Tobi. He mocked them, laughed at them, and spat on everyone he slew. The war's only real shot at winning was his defeat. If he could be brought down then the war could be won.

For four years the battle had raged with only one side gaining ground: The Akatsuki. Due to the Edo Tensei, Tobi was able to keep ahead of the army of the alliance by a factor of death. For every shinobi that fell from the alliance, Tobi gained a new member in his army of soulless warriors. Not even the great and powerful Kabuto, in all his infinite stolen wisdom, could stand up to him. In one single act of security, Tobi had slain the alliances' one hope for a fast victory as Tobi took full control over a soulless Kabuto to command his undead army.

Through the great sacrifice of the many, time was bought, but in the eyes of some it was only a delay for the inevitable. Hope was lost with the first two majors deaths in the alliance. People so strong brought down by a man who walked without a name, first clinging to a name of power then abandoning it at a moment's notice. With the death of Ei, the Raikage, and his brother, Kiraa Bii, the former Hachibi host, the war began to tip in the favor of Tobi.

After their deaths it was clear to some that they would lose. A grand alliance of all Nations fighting against one man with the power of Eight Bijuu seemed one sided, even with an army of clones and undead people. But he was winning the war. And while more people died, others, trained.

In the hopes of standing a chance against him, a special task force had been devised to buy time. The last Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, holder of Kyuubi, was the only hope people could cling to. Stories of his first and second fight with Tobi brought hope to them, and as each battle was waged, any time Tobi appeared Naruto appeared in a flicker of thunder and light. To those that watched it was described as though Heaven and Hell were fighting. Light fighting Darkness. Evil fighting Good. Demon fighting Angel. There were no words to describe the way it was to watch them fight.

Some said that with but a single swing of their fists, mountains were leveled. When they fought the rains would come with their lightning and their thunder and their storms so unspeakable that they would be used to scare children and keep them in line. Fires that never ended would erupt and the sky would cry and scream for them to stop as the earth was torn asunder. But the stories weren't all true. Naruto, working together with Kyuubi, could repeal Tobi and his other Eight Bijuu, but only for so long. As time grew on, Tobi began to master his control over them and then, without warning, unleashed a powerful attack on the alliance.

One of the major pieces of power was lost during his first test of his new found power. Their chain of command was severed during the attack. Tobi had turned his sights on their Headquarters. The famous trio, Ino-Shika-Cho team was defeated and their lead strategist was taken down. Following this they lost communication. Resources were hit next followed by their weapon and food caches. Tobi had dealt a crippling blow to them, but not without suffering as well.

Appearing from a bolt of lightning Naruto had emerged and drove him back with a power unlike any other. Bested, Tobi retreated, but the chilling smile he had had Naruto worried.

Due to the attack, Tobi had vanished, either crippled for overusing his new found power or to rein control over it. In either case, he wasn't seen for the remainder of the year. Naruto, during this time, was given time off and allowed to rest. Any time Tobi had appeared he had been sent out to retaliate against him. It was a never ending struggle for them. Naruto had power, Tobi had skills. What Naruto lacked, he made up for with brute force. He shoved through everything Tobi could throw at him and then some.

Sadly, Naruto's brute strength wasn't enough to do what he needed. Tobi was a man of power and skill, something Naruto lacked. Though he was fully allied with Kyuubi, things were never in their favor. Kyuubi was almost constantly being forced into healing Naruto when he was injured, giving him his strength just to keep him alive and give him a chance to fighting against their nameless enemy. Kyuubi was never truly happy to do such a thing, but there was no way he was going to go back to being a slave for the accursed Uchiha clan.

Naruto felt the tingling in the back of his mind and sighed. _"Are you ready, Kurama?" _

There was a huff of annoyance and then the voice of his tenant. _**"I've been ready since the day I first gave you my power when we first fought him." **_

The Jinchuuriki let out a weary sigh before standing up. It was almost time. Tobi or Madara or whoever he was, was on his way. He would be here any moment.

"Just a little longer," he told himself. He had said that so many times when he was fighting him. It was his belief that each confrontation would be the end of one of them. He just wanted to end the fighting, but there was no sign of it ending anytime soon. All he wanted was for the war to end. Too many of his friends were dead now because he wasn't strong enough to stop this nameless man.

The clouds parted and rays of light fell through them. Naruto stared intently at the rays of light and wondered momentarily if it was a sign that the war was about to end. How many more people would have to die before it was over? Only Madara needed to die. Naruto would see to that.

"_**He's here." **_

Nodding, the blond reached to his throat and pressed the button on his throat mic. "This is Naruto to all allied Shinobi. Good luck to all of you today." He flicked it off. _And goodbye…_

He tore his earpiece off and dropped it. It felt like the end. He was tired. He was just tired of the constant fighting. His will was finally being broken. The loss of so many good friends was always eating at him. His best attempts to kill his emotions had paid off, but at the cost of his own heart. He hurt more often than not. The days of his childhood ended the day he learned of Kyuubi's existence inside him. But the war was the real killer for him. Killing his emotions was hard. They were useless and got in the way. When an army of Zetsus could easily take the form of his close friends and mass him he had no choice but to kill them. And Madara wasn't below killing one of his own Zetsu to startle him when it took the form of someone he loved or held dear.

Killing was all he knew. Naruto killed his humanity, the Zetsu army, and even a few of his friends when they mixed with an approaching clone army of Zetsu. His Ninjutsu was anything but subtle.

The nameless warrior arrived with his army of Zetsu clones. Naruto could feel Kyuubi's restlessness growing on him. He wanted violence and he wanted this man dead.

"We really must stop meeting this way!" Tobi exclaimed happily. Naruto smiled at him. "So how about we end this? You give me Kyuubi-"

"Kurama."

"-Kurama… So sorry. One would think it would be easy to remember the name of a large beast like himself. But I suppose names are trivial things. After all, names are something other people give you."

"Yes I suppose it would be easy to remember a thing like that. And you're right; names are things other people give you. I imagine the value of a name means very little to someone who uses the names of others. The value of a name is meaningless anyways. Names are trivial. Just like how this war is trivial."

"Yes, just like self-appointed titles and appointed titles, future Hokage. And to think you'll be the youngest Hokage in history so long as you don't die before the wars ends."

"Yeah… supposing I don't die and give Kurama to you or somehow die by unnatural causes shortly after your death."

"So you're aiming to kill yourself after killing me? Why not save me the trouble and die right here?"

"Well… misery does love company and I could use the company when I die. Figure… if I go down I'll just drag you with me. What's there to lose in that?"

"You're life."

The two blurred into motion. Naruto brought down the clones in a flash and his nameless foe appeared unfazed as they clashed in a flash of steal.

Swinging his fan down, Tobi put all of his strength into the blow only to have it blocked by the glowing blond haired boy. "You and I are truly the same. We can only acknowledge our existence on the battlefield!"

"And yet you want to create the ideal world through an illusion that would bring about your twisted idea of peace!" Naruto shoved him back while Kurama released a dozen arms from the chest of the glowing cloak that surrounded his host. Tobi weaved around them as he broke off and stepped back. "Why would you go to all the trouble to take the other Bijuu for your twisted idea of peace if you love fighting on the battlefield?"

"I never said what I would do when my plan came to fruition now did I? I said I would give them peace through my illusion. I would control everything about them. The peace I'd give them would be the same as the peace they have now, even the same as the peace they had before this war. Their peace would be whatever I decided it would be!"

"You're sick! And so is your logic!"

Naruto swung for his face with a Rasengan in hand. Tobi effortlessly avoid it and stepped back a good few more feet. Keeping distance between the Jinchuuriki was a hard thing when he could use the Hiraishin no Jutsu. But his speed wasn't good enough to keep himself out of reach and took a piece of the attack to the face. It clipped him, but it was otherwise the first blood to be drawn between the two.

Naruto pushed forward, both hands holding a Rasengan as he zipped forward to continue his assault. Tobi raised one hand and with a single thrust sent him flying backwards. Naruto tucked and rolled as he bounded over the already broken field before coming to a stop fifty yards away. Pushing chakra into his legs, he blurred and was before the nameless enemy again. Kurama screamed something and the cloak reacted, spreading out and forming a large paw in the sky.

Tobi hastily vacated the area and watched the paw come down and begin sifting through the earth in a sneak attack method. He weaved around it when it erupted from the ground no more than two feet away from him. He flipped and dodged as tendrils spread out from the main arm and tried to ensnare him. Becoming intangible, the arms passed through him and he ran forward. Naruto willed the cloak to form an extra arm and grabbed a kunai. The chakra arm did as instructed and let loose the weapon. It passed right through Madara's head.

Madara continued to run straight through the attack. Naruto was within arm's reach when the blond suddenly vanished. Madara smiled, turned, and caught the blonde's wrists, stopping him short of hitting him with the twin Rasengans. Naruto grinned and the chakra cloak bulged before another hand erupted from his chest. Madara took the hit and was forced into the ground. The cloak arm yanked him from the earth and drug him before the blond as he thrust both arms forward.

Kunai flew and Naruto let go when he saw the sizzling of burning paper. Kurama picked up on it as well and hastily let go as well. Naruto flickered from view and the explosion rocked the landscape. Naruto appeared two hundred yards away and turned to face the rising smoke.

"That was a bit much."

Madara laughed.

"I thought your goal was to capture me, not kill me. Suddenly having a change of heart?"

"Nothing like that," he commented sharply. There was a certain glee in his voice. "Even if you die, Kyuubi will still be usable for me. With your death it will only delay my plans. If you gave up now they could come to fruition right now. However, killing you still gives me the Kyuubi. I can control him with my Sharingan, remember?"

Naruto growled at the mention of the Sharingan and lunged towards the man. They clashed in a flash of steal and blades. They clashed over and over and over until they were both forced back. No matter how much ground either gained they lost more with each growing second. Naruto pushed him back and Madara retried inward before pulling out a new trick.

Naruto blurred into a stream of light that zipped around. The masked fighter watched with a keen eye as the blond moved around and around without getting within arms' reach of him. Naruto wasn't stupid. He hadn't survived this long in the war by playing stupid. Madara wasn't someone to screw around with. Even if his name was fake, he was still a man of near equal power to that of the original.

Tobi turned and reached out to touch Naruto. The blond was close enough to touch when he flickered away and pain lanced through Tobi's back. The blow was resounding and his teeth snapped together hard. He tasted blood and metal in his mouth. His vision darkened for a moment before it was restored to normalcy.

The masked Shinobi spun and connected a hard kick to Naruto's sternum as it appeared like a ghost from out of nowhere. He lifted him up and brought the blond teen up and over his head to bring him down in the dirt thirty yards away. A crater formed from the impact and the teen bounced and skidded before coming to a stop a few feet away from the epicenter of the dented soil. Madara approached with purpose and smiled down on the teen as he reached out to grab him. He pulled his hand back and smiled and stepped out. He waited for two minutes before finally tossing a kunai in the boy. With a thud the kunai struck and the boy exploded into smoke.

"You aren't making any serious attempt with this fight. Very strange… Does this mean that you're giving up? Are you about to resign yourself to me and give up to the idea of your peace? Why torment yourself saying, "Eventually, someday?" How long have you been fighting me with your thoughts clouded by the brand of sweet poison?"

No reply came.

Tobi hissed a curse and raise a hand to the sky. Lighting cackled in the sky and the clouds grew darker. A deep roar echoed from the heavens and lightning fell form the heavens, touching the earth and setting it ablaze.

"You don't understand anything else!"

Madara spun around and saw only a streak of orange and red blurring at him. The ground rumbled and ruptured. The earth rose up and fire flew through straight at him. In a flash of light the lightning came down and blew the flames away. Madara was blown backwards and skipped along the ground. One hand raised, he smiled and lightning flew from his hands and into the speeding blur. Naruto stopped in mid-air and screamed. The lightning flew from the heavens into Naruto and the teen screamed in pain.

"Have you anything else to say to me before I take that which is mine from you?"

"A few words come to mind!" Naruto closed his eyes and focused all of his chakra outward. The lightning began to bend until it was knock away, freeing the Jinchuuriki. Naruto raised one hand and thrust it forward towards the maniac. "Shinra Tensei!"

An invisible hand slapped Madara aside and sent him sprawling onto the ground. He punched a hand into the ground and forced himself into a dead stop. Naruto was on him in a flash of light. Madara growled and forced his own chakra out in the same method, pushing Naruto back and into the ground with just as much force as he had used. The blond was able to stave off most of it by shielding himself with the same technique.

In a battle of power Naruto far outclassed Tobi. In a battle of skill Tobi far outclassed Naruto. It was a tradeoff the worked well for the blond but not for the masked man.

A kunai flew through the air. Madara batted it aside as Naruto flew at him, his eyes ablaze with rage.

The Jinchuuriki snapped a punch out and the masked man caught it and used Naruto's momentum to toss him over and into the ground. The blond hissed in pain and his cloak surged forward. A paw pushed Madara back and forced him into a defensive stance. He wasn't able to keep the defensive stance for long. Kyuubi's power was beyond what he could deal with it not being on his terms. If the Kyuubi was free to roam the world he could control him with ease and things would be on his terms.

Tobi turned intangible to escape the relentless power of the beast inside the blond. The attacks passed through him and he was able to escape the power.

Naruto got up and looked at him. A tear slid down his face as a voice echoed from within his mind. _"Naruto… you can change. I couldn't. Please… carry on my legacy."_

"You… It's all your fault. You're the one to blame!"

Naruto blurred at the insane man. Tobi summoned up his fan and prepared for a counter strike. Naruto raised a hand and Madara pumped chakra into his left hand for a Shinra Tensei. Smoke formed and a familiar blade appeared in Naruto's hand.

"Still clinging to your forgotten relics of the past!"

Naruto brought down the blade and hissed a curse at him before screaming, "For the sake of my sensei! For the sake of my friends! For the sake of everyone that you have used and killed, just die!"

The long head cleaving sword, Kubikiri Bouchou, growled as it slowly began to cleave into the metal of the fan handle. The fan groaned before it was finally cleaved in two. The sword passed through Tobi but the man was able to escape being sliced in two by becoming intangible. The massive sword struck the earth and cleaved the earth beneath it in two. A dust bowl appeared and the two fighters were obscured.

Naruto waited for Madara's next move as he raised his captured sword and placed it on his shoulder. His anger flooded his eyes and with a quick glance at the blade he was forced to turn and avert his eyes.

"Do you have any idea on why we're fighting anymore? Do you have any idea on why this world is the way it is?" Naruto asked, tempting Madara into revealing his location.

"Does it really matter anymore? Our war will consume the world and bring devastation to it. How many lives must you throw away to fight me? How many more villages, more homes, more lands, must burn before you simply yield? Do you understand what you're doing?"

His voice echoed from every direction. Naruto growled.

"Why don't you understand? What you're doing is wrong. You're destroying your own idea of peace and destroying our world. Everyone who has supported you and cherished your ideal of peace have fallen and left you. You lost everything but your army of undead soldiers. Have you any respect for the fallen?"

"Have you? Those eyes aren't you own!"

"Do not speak to me as though your eyes are truly yours! You stole everything to gain what you have. And you were stealing away our individuality to give us a false idea of peace! My eyes may not have been mine, but mine were given to me, not taken!"

Kyuubi closed his eyes and the pain of his host slowly seeped into his pain and suffering.

"Do not spout nonsense to me, child! Everything in this world is stolen! Your eyes were stolen and you know it. His sacrifice gave you power that you took from him! His sacrifice is the only reason that you have survived, but weak trash always sticks together!"

"I will not let you disgrace Sasuke's sacrifice! You will over my dead body! Not after what you've done to him and all the others that were just like him!"

Kyuubi growled and began getting ready for his host to move out and attack again.

"Not looking at reality! Happy to be watching us from afar! Don't make me laugh! There is only one truth here! You are a coward without power! All of your power you stole! Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobuu, Son Gokuu, Kokuou, Saiken, Choumei, Gyuuki, Sasuke, and even the very name of Madara! You are nothing but a thief! All of your power is their power and you took it from them! You have no right to give anyone the idea of peace!"

"I'll show you power! All of my power! All of my hate!"

Naruto turned and screamed. He swung his sword and cleaved the air. A loud clang resounded and Tobi appeared with hatred burning in his eyes. Naruto could see his eyes in the man's reflection. They were white with three rings and three comma marks in each ring.

Tobi shoved him back and threw a dozen kunai at the blond. Naruto used the large sword as a shield and deflected them. Once the barrage stopped he flew forward and brought the sword down on Madara's head. With a single fist the sword was knocked away from Naruto and sent flying into the sky. Naruto screamed while forming a Rasengan. Tobi screamed as him and punched the Rasengan. His hand was slowly shredded from the style of the attack.

Madara pushed through the attack and clasped Naruto's throat. With his free hand Madara brought out a kunai and stabbed it into Naruto's gut. Naruto and Madara had a stare down before the two blew apart in an inferno of fire that spiraled upward. The swirling flames danced and roared as the rains tried to quench them but to no avail.

In a flash of light the two appeared with weapons drawn and crossing in an electrical spark of flashes. Naruto, rearmed with the legendary sword once wielded by Zabuza, his first official opponent in his carrier as a Shinobi, slashed down with all his might on Madara's twin broadswords, his once destroyed hand restored. The two had another stare down before Madara kicked him away and tossed one of his swords' at the blond. Naruto ducked under the sword and lashed out with a hard strike from his own sword. Madara parried the sword and grabbed Naruto by his throat. With his sword hand he slashed the blond across the chest. There was no resistance.

The masked man tossed the teen away and watched as he held his chest and bled blood. He had hit the real one. Naruto hadn't been able to dodge or escape him in time to avoid the attack.

The Jinchuuriki looked at his bloodied hand and then to Madara. He cleared the thoughts of his death from his mind and gripped the sword with both hands. With just one hand Naruto could wield the sword with the same level of strength that Zabuza had with two hands. Being a Jinchuuriki gave him increased strengths beyond most advanced Shinobi. But wielding with it both hands made it hard for anyone to block his attacks. Sure he normally only used the sword on Madara, but when he fought others, whether they be people revived through the corrupt power of the Edo Tensei and the Zetsu army, couldn't survive a two handed strike from his sword.

The masked man shouted a curse and with a single thrust of his hand sent Naruto flying back before he could get within twenty feet of him. Naruto growled in anger as he rooted himself to the ground with his chakra and the sword. All of his might was pushed into holding his position. Madara snapped another curse and pumped more chakra into the attack. Still, no matter how much chakra he forced into the jutsu, Naruto didn't budge. It grew on him and eventually he killed the jutsu. Naruto stumbled forward and was kicked up into the air. The young man flipped and flew backwards with a single clone aiding in his escape.

The blond landed a good distance away from Madara and stared at him. The masked man simple stared at him before assuming a battle stance again with his swords at the ready.

Kyuubi began to growl and Naruto nodded mentally. He knew what was coming. Madara couldn't use his Genjutsu on him and using something like Amaterasu on him was far too dangerous with someone that could just as easily set you ablaze as well with his own speed. There wasn't really anything that Madara could do to Naruto that he couldn't throw back at him or counter.

"_**Time to combine our thoughts and reflexes, Naruto!"**_

Naruto gave a grunt of acknowledgment before the surge of Kyuubi's thoughts and feelings melded with his own. In a burst of light Naruto was consumed by the golden light of his full controlled form of Kyuubi's energy while free of the cage. A haori of golden energy formed around him with the seal of black lines forming over his body. His hair became ablaze of golden energy and stood straight up with two pieces out front sticking up like mini horns. His whiskers turned into sold rectangles and his eyes became red with slits.

Madara grunted and formed a black flame of energy around his own person. In a blaze of gold Naruto vanished and Madara's world went sideways. He was too slow in summoning up his own defenses to counter this form of power that they had.

Tobi grunted as he felt Naruto's powerful blows land on him. It was a wave of never ending pain that only lasted a second before his Susanoo was formed and prevented him from getting at him.

Naruto stood back and watched as the thing formed, all the while listening to Kyuubi's own thoughts on humanity and wars.

"_**Despite our intelligence, we're thoughtless and have trivial misunderstandings."**_

"_Whether or not that is true, we're not much different from each other, are we?" _Naruto couldn't see the face of his inner demon, but knew he was feeling some form of sympathy for the way they had gotten along for the first part of their lives. _"You and I are prime examples of that. I hated you for what you did to the village when all of my anger and rage should have been directed at him. If I only spoken to you, tried to understand you… perhaps we wouldn't be in this situation. The war would have been long over."_

"_**If we had never come to understanding, I doubt we'd be here now. Maybe we just didn't think about each other's situation to notice it."**_

"_I suppose we have this man to think for our coming to an understanding with each other, then. Of all the lives he ruined, he made us who we are today. At least I'm happy to get to know the real you, Kurama."_

The spectral creature of energy that was Susanoo fully formed. Naruto gripped his oversized sword with both hands and flared his power.

Madara smirked from inside his protect shell. While forms of Susanoo were strong in both defense and offense at the same time, his was without question the greatest. Even against the power of a Bijuu it was greater. And there was the overall issue between the two. Naruto wasn't a Bijuu. He was a Jinchuuriki for a Bijuu. Where a Bijuu was a single being using brute force to overpower their enemies, a human could use anything at their disposal to win a fight, even cheat.

"_**You're a Shinobi." **_Naruto laughed mentally. _**"You don't fight fair. You were trained to fight dirty. Now let's get dirty." **_

Tobi slowly walked towards them, sword in hand and shield in the other. The massive tengu reeled back with the sword and swung it onto the lone being. Naruto sidestepped the attack and blinked out of existence for only a moment. In that moment the great and powerful Susanoo doubled forward and then snapped back and to the ground like a puppet cut from its strings. The ground heaved with the force of their landing and moaned like a dying animal as chunks of earth rose up to surround the fallen specter.

Naruto appeared a good distance away and watched with a keen eye. Everything he saw Kurama saw as well. Everything he heard or thought, Kurama heard as well. Their connection was down to touch, taste, pain, and on an emotional level. It was a true state of oneness.

Kyuubi said or thought nothing as Naruto felt his instincts and turned to engage Madara as he appeared behind them. The massive specter was fast for its size.

They blurred from sight and three halos of destruction appeared in the sky. The clouds parted with such force that the shadow remained behind for a full two seconds before breaking though. Naruto was in the sky with an army of his own clones. Each carried a swirling ball of wind and chakra in the form of a shuriken.

Impenetrable or not, Tobi knew enough to know that that attack would break anything it struck. Whether there was damage to be seen on the Susanoo was entirely up to how much chakra was thrown into the attack. There was no such thing as an 'Ultimate Defense' in the Shinobi World. It was as strong as it was until you came across an attack of greater power.

"Senpou: Fuuton Rasen Shuriken!"

A blinding light of pure white obscured everything from view. Tobi was forced to close his eyes as the searing whiteness was slowly burned into his retina. The howling winds and roaring destruction caused by the attack screamed over everything else. Though unseen by the masked fighter, the clouds were shredded and pushed aside. They still threatened to return like a storm that marked the marching of evil over the fields of justice.

Naruto landed a mile away and watched the swirl mass of white tear the earth asunder. Through the link with Kyuubi he avoided dozens of falling slabs of earth and eventually stood waiting before the cloud of dust. A low booming noise could be heard from within the blast zone. Naruto tensed and waited and watched. A deep seated growl soon replaced all over noise.

Then the screams came.

Naruto dropped to one knee and held the side of his head. Through his connection with Kyuubi he was gifted with a great ability that was also the bane of this ability. The other Bijuu that now resided within Madara could be sensed by him. Their voices, their cries for help, sounded greater in this form. They wanted out. They didn't want to be weapons of war anymore. They wanted freedom. Though Madara could easily control them with his Sharingan, silencing their minds was another thing altogether that he simply couldn't do. They were all connected by mentality only in such range.

Naruto canceled the cloak and waited.

In the shadow of the debris two eyes lit up. The Jinchuuriki tensed and began summoning the Chakra cloak, Version Two form. When brute force was needed, this form was needed the most. It protected him from all forms of penetrating attacks. Naruto was near invincible in this form. But the draw back was the usage. It drained the two of them faster and they could still take a beating, it just wouldn't kill them in the same way a kunai to the chest would. If in an attack of greater power there was no escape. Brute force was the only option.

One red tail appeared, followed by another and another until four-tails swished by the all red being that was once a young man with blond hair and tanned skin. No trace of clothing remained. Only red skin remained that moved like blood through veins. A white emptiness glowed from the eyes and mouth as the form roared in protest to Madara's accursed power.

The dust cloud surrounded Tobi vanished and was replaced by a red creature with a white skeleton forged over its body like male dog mating with a female. Twin horns and empty white pits for eyes and a mouth roared back in protest to Naruto's Four-Tailed state, its seven tails waving around angrily.

Thunder rolled and the sky turned dark only to be illuminated by the lightning that touched down around them.

Twin plumes of dust shot skyward and the two clashed in center. As always, Naruto could out muscle him, but Madara knew counters to counter counters. So when Naruto grabbed hold of his face to try and crush it, Madara broke the hold, countered his attempt at an underhand grab and toss, and clasped him with one hand and threw him into the ground. With Naruto pinned he pounded away on his face, the skeleton fist overlaying his own fist aiding in the damage department.

Naruto took a dozen hits before his chest bulged and exploded upwards. A fist connected to Madara's face from the chest and the upper body of Naruto appeared from within. The two forms batted away the Seven-Tailed Beast and allowed Naruto to get to his feet. The two head glowered at their enemy as they slowly fused back into one.

The two had another stare down and a few growls before engaging each other again.

Thunder rolled through the air and lightning struck the ground around them as they clashed in mighty blows that leveled the earth beneath them. Neither backed down an inch.

Tobi was infuriated with the blond over his own power. What the Kyuubi could do over what his captured Eight Bijuu had to offer put him off all the time. Here he was at a Seven-Tailed state and Naruto was holding him off at a mere Four-Tailed state. It was just another testament to the power of the Kyuubi as far as he was concerned.

With a blinding arch of a speed Tobi crossed the distance to escape Naruto and charge up an attack of utter destruction. Naruto retaliated by reading his own attack. Two beings of immense power and hatred forged inside them. Madara had his prepared well before Naruto did. Kyuubi retaliated by pumping more chakra into Naruto's attack. Madara fired first. Naruto fired second and their attacks hit closer to Naruto with the favor being in Madara's strike.

Two beams of pure light rolled over Naruto. One went straight over him and continued heading along the ground while the other split into three forms and flew into the air. Naruto was obscured from view but his power didn't vanish. The only waver in his energy came from the overpowering increase from Kurama as they synched further and went beyond the Four-Tailed state.

Madara fired again and again at them, each strike slowing down the transformation but not stopping it.

Their signatures vanished for a fleeting moment. Madara blinked and their chakra crashed down on him with such killer intent that Madara nearly slipped in control over the Bijuu.

With a single growl the clouds of destruction and dust settled and Naruto stood at the ready before his archenemy. Seven-Tails of power stood before him. Red skin, the white skeleton that lay draped over his form like a mating animal, and crushing power of a Bijuu resonated from the blond.

The nameless man growled in anger as he began pumping for another form. His tails twitched and with a blast of red and blue energy formed his eighth tail.

Naruto stared at the metallic like form of Madara in his Eight-Tailed state. It was a metallic-like bone system over blackish red flesh. The horns remained on his form just like from before, but the skull possessed a third eye in the center of the head above the empty pits where the other eyes were. If anything had ever attained the title of a 'Demonic Creature' then this form took it.

In a burst of speed he was behind Naruto and kicked him into the ground. The ground from the very impact of the blond striking the earth. A cloud of dust arose and fell with the pouring rain. Naruto wasn't given a chance for anything. Madara laid into him with such force that Naruto felt the bones over his body breaking. His Bijuu infused more chakra into them to keep them formed, but at their current form they had limits.

Tobi stopped punching on him long enough to grab him by the skull of his Bijuu. He gave it two strong tugs before the thing snapped and broke apart leaving half a skull on Naruto's face. Kyuubi cried for Naruto as the blond felt the searing pain as though it were truly his own.

The Eight-Tailed form of Madara gave a loud cry and stopped its relentless assault to back up and took a shot at its own head. It punched hard and the bone face cracked on it as well. The sudden change of pace gave Naruto enough time to get to his feet and lashed out. This was just further proof that Madara hadn't been able to gain complete control over the eight Bijuu that were inside him, along with that of the other two half power forms of Kyuubi that came from the twin brothers from Kumo. So many resounding minds trapped within his own body that he couldn't fully control had a price after all.

Back on his feet, the blond turned and grabbed the masked man with both hands and threw him into the same hole he had just been in. Madara screamed in agony as Naruto continued to pound away on his face before Madara's chest bulged and a single head appeared.

Kyuubi's instincts and thoughts rolled over the blond and he formed his own Bijuudama. Madara prepared the same and in only half the time that Naruto had been able to create it. A single sphere of destruction formed over the two and engulfed them in solid white light. The sound of thunder formed only a moment later and the ground was ripped asunder and blown away in a violent push that punched a hole in the heavens.

When the light faded the two were seen in a death lock trying to overpower the other. Neither seemed able to overpower the other. Naruto growled and the Kyuubi began pumping more chakra into him. An eighth tail appeared. With the new strength boosting him he was able to slowly overpower him, but not for long. Tobi was a man that knew how to use the enemy's strength against them.

In a flash the masked man had countered him and had thrown him away. Naruto rolled along the ground. Kurama acted fast and forced the bone structure to break away and dig into the ground to stop their rolling. Once they had come to a complete stop Kurama returned the skeleton to its normal form.

Naruto growled deep and Kyuubi gave a low "hmm" in thought. Madara didn't move for a moment before suddenly dropping the form and returning to normal.

"_**He still doesn't have full control of them." **_

The blond growled deeply and charged him.

Tobi thrust one hand and a golden chain flew from his hand. The chain shot past them Jinchuuriki, stopped, and then flew back to wrap around him. Madara jumped over the future Hokage as he barreled past him. Naruto stopped when the two realized their folly but were too late to react to it.

Madara gave a hard yank on the chain and the Eight-Tailed formed of Naruto flew through the air, slamming through the risen earth, trees that had yet to be flattened by their battle, and then stopped when he was thrown high into the air and brought down into the ground with a resounding thud. The earth cracked beneath Tobi's feet and the chain went slack.

A low groan sounded and the ground beneath his feet exploded skywards. A red paw became visible and crashed down over the form of the nameless man. A scream sounded and then the paw was thrown away. Madara stood up with one hand raised and the other slowly retracting the chain. He failed to pull it all back in time. Naruto grabbed hold on and was yanked towards him.

In less than five seconds Naruto closed the distance and took a swing at the man. His fist passed right through his head as he became intangible. Naruto tucked and rolled and prepared a Bijuudama and fired it at the man. Tobi had no other choice but to evade the attack altogether. However, he wasn't able to fully roll away and just barely avoided direct contact with the attack. The attack struck behind him and propelled him forward. The explosion rolled through him and he coughed as he hit the ground.

Naruto gave a low growl of approval as he watched Madara get to his feet and prepared to attack him again.

The masked man growled and took a deep breath.

The Jinchuuriki's eyes went wide as realization hit him like a tone of breaks. The sky roared and lightning fell from the sky on him. Naruto and Kurama screamed in agony as the searing pain of lightning arched through their entire body.

A sonic boom tore through the sound the roaring thunder and blew the earth flat around him. The skeleton over Naruto's form cracked and then broke apart. The red skin fell away over his right arm and the side of his face. His Rinnegan/Sharingan formed and he struck out with one arm. Tobi cursed his ill-fated luck.

"Shinra Tensei!"

An invisible hand swept in and flattened the masked man. He screamed and began warping the air around him to evade the next strike.

Kurama grinned and the red head of the Bijuu form erupted from Naruto's red coated chest. The mouth opened and a Bijuudama flew from its mouth. A single gravity attack and the power of a Bijuudama combined into one and the entire world went bright white.

A sharp pain pinched into Naruto's side and then blackness took him. In that instance a searing pain ran over his form and then nothing. There was no more pain. There was no feeling of oneness with Kurama. His body felt weightless and then the light came.

His body went cold and then Kurama's voice brought reason to him.

"_**He survived that. He fired a Bijuudama at the last second. He has to be hurting from transforming so fast without something to stabilize him. Bet that bastard is hurting like all hell."**_

The blond gasped for air and his vision returned. He was under water. He could feel Madara close by. He really hadn't died. But his chakra was badly drained. He wasn't going to last much longer in a fight like this. Not when Naruto had access to an unlimited chakra source and his own high chakra reserves.

Naruto climbed to the surface of the water and realized that something was strangely off. He didn't have any time to check things over before his masked opponent appeared and began fighting him again.

(-)

"This is just my luck."

Gildarts Clive, the most laid back, easygoing person in the guild of Fairy Tail, sat up straight in his chair on the beach. He had worked hard. Way hard to just get some time off to have fun, live a little, checkout the girls, and hopefully, get laid. He knew that the later of his choices might not happen as soon as he wanted it to, there was no way he was passing up the chance to just sit back and relax and watch the sunset.

He had busted his ass for two years just get some time off. He worked hard, made money, and finally, after busting his ass long enough, made enough money to take an entire month off and spend it somewhere away from the guild. Sure he would worry about them, and they could easily get in contact with him on a moments' notice, but he needed some time to himself. And this was just the place to do it too. It was real close to Magnolia, so if anyone wanted to get into contact with him, they really didn't have that far to travel.

Gildarts had counted his luck pretty good to have not destroyed anything for the past two days. He had spent it outside, salty air of the beach and that the town had to offer. Because of his own magic he was a bit of a danger to everyone, enemies and allies alike. It wasn't like it was his fault anyways. It was just the magic he was gifted with. And because of how good he was as a mage, the town of Magnolia actually went out of their way to rearrange their town because of his magic.

Gildarts cursed his luck as he looked at his drink. It was still all in there despite the sudden explosion, the rocking of the earth, and the massive tidal wave that had appeared and was blown away by some unseen force. His day had been so good too until the sky went dark and shit just literally hit the fan. Now it seemed like a war was going down.

"I'm going to get blamed for this if something bad happens to the town."

He sat the drink down and ran towards the two opposing forces. He wasn't even sure on the numbers they had. The only thing he was certain on was that they weren't showing any signs of sympathy for bystanders.

Gildarts was able to get to the edge of the beach where the water had begun to recede again. The water was pulled back and lightning arched in the sky. The roar of something primal and evil sounded beneath the water that sent chills down his spine. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he saw red. A massive red paw shot skyward and crashed down behind him. He flew forward, tucked and rolled and sprang to his feet. The paw slowly became transparent and when he looked up he saw a figure in the center of the head of the large specter.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!"

A dragon made of flame sprang from the lighthouse and crashed against the beast above Gildarts. The beast howled and turned to face him. The person at the head growled, raised one hand, and yanked it back. The lighthouse was obliterated by an unseen force and a dark figure was pulled from it. The massive beast glowed and then vanished with the person.

A solid crack sounded and then two pieces of wood fell from the sky. A speeding blur shot overhead. Gildarts dove for some kind of cover as metal weapons rained down around him. Once the raining of the weapons stopped he was able to look up and see the two fighters.

To his utter shock one was someone that appeared no older than him. It was a blond haired teen wearing a short sleeved white haori with the word 'Yondaime Hokage' written on the back of it. He had two large pouches attached to a belt, a pair of black sandals, a dark green vest under his haori and black fabric bandana with a piece of metal sown onto it.

The other was a masked person that showed only one eye through the orange spiral mask. This person wore a black cloak with red clouds on it, though part of it was missing and showed his arm to be covered by some sort of plate armor. He wasn't sure, but it might have even gone over his chest as well.

Looking between the two it was clear that they were out to kill the other.

The mask wearing fighter looked to the right and saw the town. The other one did the same and stiffened. The masking wear man raised one hand and brought it down. Lightning arced from cloud to cloud but did nothing. The blond teen vanished and tackled the masking wearing man before exploding. Flames licked at Gildarts' body and he could only stare at the small glassed spot where the two had been.

Something wet struck his face and his eyes were burned with the image of the blond haired teen standing in front of him with three knives lodged in his chest, one of which had gone all the way through the gap between his shoulder and lung where there was only flesh, mostly his armpit.

Red eyes landed on him. Gildarts thought his red eyes were strange because they were slitted, but there were also the deep markings his cheeks like scars.

"Leave… You have to get away from here!"

The teen dropped to one knee as he slowly pulled the weapons out of his body.

"Are you insane? You're hurt! And on top of that, why are you two fighting?" The eyes of the blond turned white with rings and comma markings in each ring. "Forget that. What's up with your eyes?"

The blond just growled as he put a hand on Gildarts chest. An invisible force pushed him aside and sent him flying out of the way. He crashed a dozen meters back and crashed landed. He growled as he got to his feet and saw the teen rush off to face the masked man.

From his perspective it was clear that the masked man cared very little for the innocent people that were now being involved in their battle. The blond seemed to care a great deal and went to great lengths to avoid them entirely.

"What is going on here?"

The fighting between the two intensified until the masked man was brought down and sent falling into the ocean. The blond fell from the sky and collapsed to one knee. He was gasping for air and slumped down onto his backside. Gildarts gave the calm ocean one look before running over to the teen.

"You okay?" The blond didn't say anything. "Can you hear me? Are you okay?"

"Yeah… Somewhat."

Gildarts put a hand on his shoulder and something wet and warm covered his hand. He retracted it and looked at it. His entire hand was covered in blood. He gave the boy a quick look over and noticed that he was covered with large wounds. They were far from scratches. They were fully fledged mortal wounds.

"I'm going to get go get you a doctor. Stay here until I…"

The ocean began to boil. The boy stiffened and slowly began to get to his feet. Gildarts watched as the entire ocean began to boil for as far as he could see. A dark blackness formed and then there was only thunder.

"Uzumaki… Naruto!"

Gildarts looked down at the teen and then out into the ocean.

With a loud roar the entire ocean went skyward and a massive wave threatened to sweep them away. The teen at his side took a deep breath and roared while throwing his hands forward. The wave was blown aside and the town spared by his actions from the wave. What appeared, however, was a far greater threat than anything he could fathom. A dark purple creature made of flames appeared from within the water and swung out with a flame sword.

The teen shoved him down and flattened himself as the sword passed over their prone bodies.

The mage screamed in terror and hastily jumped up only to be shoved away again by an unseen force. His eyes turned to the teen as he began to glow gold. In the blink of an eye the teen was knocked away and the flaming creature stormed over towards the down boy.

Gildarts rolled to a stop and watched as the massive specter began tearing the harbor apart in an attempt to find the teen. Screams sounded and he could see the town slowly catching fire as explosion tore it to pieces. The ground moaned and the oceans crashed against the beach. High winds began picking up boats and throwing them aside like child play things. Before long the entire harbor was gone and reduced to nothing but smoldering wreckage.

And then the unthinkable happened.

A doom of red appeared in front of the specter and an explosion of power poured out. Gildarts dug his feet into the ground and was still knocked down. The heat washed over him. He could feel his skin prickle and blister as the heat only increased. The clouds overhead spiraled and turned like a twister was forming.

The specter hunched over, screamed, and swung its sword into the ground. Fresh screams sounded over the roar of the flames and constant explosions and falling buildings. Civilians could be seen running in every which direction but towards the fight. Some stopped and watched but then were dragged away by others.

Gildarts wanted to run. The power was beyond anything he'd ever felt. Compared in size he felt like an ant before a human: small and insignificant. Their power was terrifying. His entire body and instincts screamed for him to flee. But his conscience and protective nature prevented such a thing. He didn't even care about increasing the reputation for the guild with this if he could win. The only thing that mattered right now was protecting the people of this town.

The specter screamed in defiance to something and backhanded the ground. A building vanished and a speeding red blur shot through the smoke. It bounced and slowly stopped. Whatever it was, it was all red like muscle beneath skin and had empty white eyes and a mouth. A skeletal system lay draped over it. Eight tails lay on the ground as the creature collapsed to the ground.

The purple specter turned and slowly began walking towards them. Gildarts steeled himself and ran past the red beast. It looked up and watched with wide eyes as he recklessly charged the thing. The specter stopped and seemed shocked for only a moment, then raised the flaming sword and brought it down.

The thud of the impact sounded and then the sword did something that the specter wasn't prepared for: it slowly broke down until it exploded right out of his hands into fiery bits. Gildarts stood with both hands raised and glaring at the large specter.

"Bring it on!"

The mage lunged forward with one arm flung back and his hand flexing. The specter stepped back and stopped the ground. Gildarts didn't stop and pushed through it with his signature magic, Kurasshu, in case there was an unseen object sent flying at him. He got through the dust cloud and reached out to touch the feet of the enormous thing. It stepped back and avoided direct contact.

This didn't stop him and he continued to chase after it. The specter flickered and faded leaving the masked man standing before him. Gildarts grinned and reached out to touch him only to feel intense pain course through his entire body. He stopped cold and looked down.

"Get out of my way," the man snapped. "I have no time for insects like you."

Gildarts was swatted away with a hard kick to the temple and crumpled into the water.

The masked man turned back to face Naruto as he charged him. Gildarts burst from the water and dove into the fray as the red being began trying to claw the man to death. No matter how either of them attacked the bizarre man was able to avoid all forms of contact.

A burst of power and the two were thrown back. The red creature stood up and howled while shaking uncontrollably. Little blue and red orbs floated in the air. If it weren't for the fighting, Gildarts might have thought it was beautiful.

The multi-tailed creature sat down on its haunches and opened its mouth as the tailed slowly began to push the orbs together. Gildarts got up front, whether this was the good fighter or not, he didn't know. But he obviously believed in protecting innocent people rather than just mindlessly destroying them.

"_**Move!"**_

Gildarts jumped to the side. The deep voice threw him for a moment but then nothing was seen or heard with the exception of a bright red light and a thunderous boom. It sounded like a cannon going off. The shockwave rolled through him.

A blast of red energy sailed straight at the masked man. One second he was there and the next an entire beam of red and white crushed over him. The shockwave from the impact threw everything out and the mage fought to stay upright. To his utter shock the man stood regenerating his lost arm which had obviously been taken by the attack.

"No you don't!" Gildarts moved with speed beyond what normal humans had and got in close. "Haja Kenshō: Itten!" With a mighty uppercut the masked man jerked and then flew straight at the sky in a spiraling motion. Gildarts stared at the dot in the sky before an even bigger dot formed. It grew in size until heat washed over him and a blinding light came down from above. _Sh-_

A shadow appeared over and looked skyward. Another set of orbs appeared around the multi-tailed being and then a sonic boom tore through everything once more. A loud bang followed by an overpressure slammed into them and knocked them flat against the sandy beach. The town stood still for a moment and then slowly fell to the ground.

"What…" Gildarts coughed and slowly scrambled to his feet. He stumbled and nearly fell. "What just happened?"

The strange creature stood and slowly began to lose its tails and the skeleton over its body. The redness that covered it faded and revealed the blond teen. "This isn't over. I don't know who you are, but you have my thanks. Now you must leave. He isn't gone yet. I fan still feel him. He's up there, waiting, watching, for chance to attack."

"Sorry, man, but I'm not leaving until either you two stop fighting or I'm dead. Considering that you're trying to avoid civilian casualties I'm guessing you're here to help rather than destroy this town. Name's Gildarts Clive by the way."

The blond groaned. "Uzumaki Naruto; and I didn't mean to come here. Not sure how I even got here to begin with since we were fighting in the middle of nowhere before we appeared here. If at all possible I'd like to avoid causalities, so please leave. Madara is beyond your capabilities. He's even beyond mine."

Gildarts resisted the urge to hit him. "I'm not leaving until you either stop fighting or I die. Though, from the way this fight seems, he has to die." Naruto nodded grimly. "I expect a few answers once this over."

"If you survive, you are more than welcome to them. But I highly doubt either of us will survive this. I don't have much chakra left." Naruto winced as the pain from his wounds began to wear on him. _"Can't you do something about my injuries? Why haven't they healed yet?"_

"_**I'm working on them. But you keep getting new injuries and I can only heal so much before you actually need to stop. This is beyond what we've normally gone against. This was a real battle to the death beyond what the others have been. This was our last ditch effort to end the war. The 'Final Shove' as those big wigs called it. Only one of us would walk away from this fight and you knew that. Though this isn't what I thought would happen. I haven't a clue on how we got here."**_

"_We can figure that out later." _Naruto turned his gaze to Gildarts. "He's coming. You can still run."

"And leave you to die? No thanks. I want answers and I need you alive since you seem to be more of the type for talking."

The two looked to the sky and watched as a tiny dot appeared again. The dot grew until the form of Madara landed eighty feet away. His cloak was gone, his mask was cracked, and his chest was revealed. A mass of seals lay over his chest and stomach. Naruto winced. The Bijuu were inside him still. If they killed him here would they return to the land from whence they came? Could he even get back to full-fill his promise to Kurama?

"_**Focus more on destroying him and less on what happens to me." **_Naruto laughed mentally. _**"So long as he dies, I don't care where I end up. Just as long as I'm not his slave, I don't give a damn if I die and end up in Hell or get stuck wherever "here" is right now."**_

Tobi hissed and howled until coherent words could be made out. "Uzumaki Naruto, you have angered me! Angered me! I will destroy you!" His hands sloppily flipped through seals. "Katon: Zukokku!"

"Suiton: Suijinheki!"

Gildarts watched in amazement as water was pulled from the ocean and surrounded Naruto and himself in a protect wall of water that stopped the fire attack from Madara.

Naruto continued to flip through several seals before putting his hand on the ground. The sand rippled and then they sank deep into it. Gildarts looked up and the sand closed on them. He was pushed forward then Naruto stopped and shot towards the top. Gildarts followed. They appeared after the masked man had been yanked into the earth and stood above him.

Tobi exploded into smoke and the two were knocked down by a hail storm of kunai and shuriken that were aflame. Naruto stood protectively in front of Gildarts with his arms raised. Gildarts heard him scream in pain and then grunt as he took two steps forward and then stopped and collapsed to the ground.

The sound of a thousand birds cawing drew their attention to the masked man. If he was grinning, the two didn't know. "Now die, Uzumaki, by the very technique your friend created." Lightning arced from his arm to the heavens above. A deep moan sounded from the clouds and Gildarts was left in awe as a dragon-like creature made from pure lightning emerged from within the clouds. "Kirin." He dropped his hand and the lightning attack surged forth to annihilate them.

The jutsu hit the ground and everything went white again. Madara cackled loudly as if victory had finally been taken. But then a flash of red formed and the protective form of the Bijuu within appeared. Only a paw had formed in time to protect them, but the damage was done. Naruto was standing with smoke wafting off of his form. He looked dead on his feet. Gildarts was burned and looked ready to collapse as well.

Naruto groaned and looked at the leader of the Akatsuki with red eyes.

"Stop that!" Madara threw kunai after kunai at him. The red cloak appeared and deflected them. "Stop that! Stop not dying! STOP IT! JUST DIE ALREADY!"

Gildarts screamed and ran straight at him. "**You **stop it! **You** die already!"

Madara screamed like a man on the edge and blew fire out at him. Gildarts never broke stride as he raised his hand and seemingly caught the fire in his hands. A net pattern appeared over the fire and then broke it apart. Madara gasped and was frozen in his spot. Gildarts slammed his hand on his mask covered face and pumped all of his magical power into his magic Punkai and Kurasshu. Madara split into tiny pieces then vanished with a resounding bang as parts of his clothing and body flew in every which direction.

Gildarts simply stood there gasping for air and growling. He stood still for the longest of times before he finally realized what he'd done. With a slow and steady purpose, he turned and saw Naruto staring at him, or rather, the spot behind him.

"_Is he…?"_

"_**I can't sense him, or any of the others, anymore. The voices… have been silenced. It's finished."**_

Naruto smiled. "It's finished…"

And then the gravity of the fighting he'd done, the wounds he had, the blood loss, the pain, and the fatigue from fighting for so long, sunk in and he collapsed to the ground. His blood slowly began to pool around his form as the sand fought to soak it up.

Gildarts slowly made his way to the kid and turned him over. His wounds were going to do him in soon. With no other choice, he scooped the teen up and slowly began to the march to the nearest hospital. If he was lucky the teen would survive. If he wasn't… he'd never get the answers he wanted and would get all the blame for this.


	2. A New World

I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

From the minds of the HumanWiki and Myevltwin.

Anything you read in this fic should not be recreated or taken serious. If you find this stuff offensive, do not read this fic. You have been warned.

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

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Chapter 2

"This guy is pretty resilient. I'll give him that much for pulling through the surgery with all those cuts and the amount of blood he lost. By all means this guy should be dead."

Gildarts nodded sagely to the proclamation of the doctor. There was no way the guy shouldn't be dead. He bled a lot during the entire trip to the nearest hospital. Even the nurses had declared him dead on the spot because of how low his pulse was. It wasn't even registering by all their normal methods without magic. But it was there and they had been able to get him stable. It only cost the doctors a bit of sanity and a lot of nerve-racking work to stitch up all the surgery spots where they cut him up.

Of course his own injuries had to be taken care of as well. His injuries hadn't been as serious as Naruto's had been, but they had been close to life threatening. He used up a lot of his magical energy in fighting that masked man, even if he hadn't been able to hit him that many times. He had poured all of his strength into fighting him just to stop the man from burning down the harbor.

Gildarts really did wonder why the guy even survived all those attacks. He had so many questions for why him that he didn't need him to die right now. The red energy he saw, the fact that he could have a specter appear over him, and even the other voice that had appeared during his fight were plaguing him.

"I must say that I'm surprised by a few things about him," the doctor continued. "For starters, he has an unusual energy inside him. Two of them in fact. The second energy seemed much more self-aware to us though. It was actually trying to suppress itself so that we couldn't find it."

"Is that so?" Gildarts pretended to fake knowing it. "Well you shouldn't worry yourselves with it. He's a new recruit I found for Fairy Tail. He just doesn't have his mark yet."

The doctor laughed and presented a small piece of paper with a drawing on it. It was just two lines that were separate and barely touching. The longest line was at the top of it and came down and swirled to make it look like a flame and the other line came under it and curved around it. It was a weird looking drawing.

"The man has this on his left shoulder. I tried looking it up in the guild database that we have, but it doesn't match anything we have on record. I was going to ask you if you were doing a joint mission of some sort with him and knew which guild he belonged to, but if he's a recruit, I can probably just pass this off as a simple tattoo. Maybe even a tribal tattoo."

"He said he got it a while back and that it's something he's not proud of. He was drunk." Gildarts laughed as though it was a good memory. "So can I go see him?"

"We've got him drugged up on some heavy sedatives to keep him asleep through the worst of the pain from surgery and his own injuries. He's on magically enhanced morphine as well so when he wakes up he shouldn't be in too much pain. The other stuff for normal people wasn't taking hold on him as best we could tell. But to answer your question; I don't see why not. Just don't try to wake him up. He needs his rest."

The S-Ranked Mage gave a happy nod before entering the medical room and sitting down in a chair directly beside him. The doctor eyed them both for a moment before heading back to do his runs. They were swamped with people after the sudden attack.

(-)

Naruto floated in the darkness of his mind without purpose or reason. He floated aimlessly as his mind tried to adjust to the new information that had been now implanted within him.

With the death of Madara came the new and more tragic thing to his life. It was a question that no warrior or shinobi wanted answered. Wars would continue on for all of eternity until the last human was gone. That much was something that Naruto knew without question. But the question of what to do during the few brief moments of peace really haunted him, and everyone that was ever a warrior of any kind. What would they do while the war was over?

But the haunting didn't stop there for him. Naruto wasn't lucky enough to only having to worry about how to beat the still life. He had to worry about Kurama and the deal they had made. Would anyone truly support him in his ideals for peace? Would anyone actually be willing to let go of the Bijuu and let them live their lives as they saw fit? Probably not.

"Tou-san, Kaa-san, Sasuke, Nagato... I know, even though I beat him, I may not change anything. That things will never go back to, or even be, normal for me. Even so, from now on, I hope that they're future is a brighter one."

The golden room of that housed his tenet appeared around. He could feel and hear Kurama's breathing behind him.

Naruto put him out of his thoughts and focused more on the image of the battle that was probably still being fought by the forces of the alliance. He could see it now; the trees, the lakes, the grass, all stained with blood, burnt and destroyed, all because of one mans' ideals for peace.

"You people, are you satisfied with this word?" He could see them dying in his minds-eye. All the memories of his friends dying around him; his teachers, his teammates, everyone that matted to him, all dying around him, haunted him. "As for me… I hate it."

The giant fox said nothing for a long time before finally speaking. "So what now?"

The blond thought about it before saying, "Don't know… Don't care."

"That's not like you to not care. I mean, I know you killed most of your emotions of former traits during the war, but you could never not care about something. So why now of all times?"

The Jinchuuriki had no answer for that. In all his time fighting and killing he had never thought about the 'What now' part of it all. He had always been stuck on the here and now rather than the later part of his life. It wasn't like there were any good options for him. In a normal person after they had done something like what he had done, beating his advisory/ultimate goal in life, they really just sat back and let life take them wherever it wanted. Usually they settled down somewhere with someone, made a family, and that was that. But for anyone like Naruto, a man of the military, a soldier that only knew how to fight battles had nothing left to really do but wait for the next war that needed fighting.

"Any idea on where we are?"

"A hospital, I would imagine. I can't heal you all the time."

"Not what I meant."

Kurama sighed explosively. And that was the other thing. They had no idea on where they actually where. For all they knew they could have been teleported to another unknown continent or different timeline. Naruto didn't have the best track record when it came to finding strange places. His last 'adventure' had taken him to a time when his Tou-san was still around and doing a mission in a small placed called Rōran. Of course after that he had been able to return home without ever knowing that the man he worked with was his Tou-san.

He had no idea on where they had ended up, only that this place, while strange, wasn't that much different from their own home. From what they had seen it was clear that this place was on a different timeline of sorts and had a different type of energy they used for combat. It wasn't so strangely different that was a complete one eighty from their own, but it was still different enough to be alien to them.

And there was the large village they were in. it was far bigger than Konoha was before the battle with Pein. They had other things that different. Naruto and Kurama had both caught shallow glimpses of metal boxes on wheels actually moving on their own without aid from a horse or any other form of working animal.

"Any ideas on how we got here?"

"Not at the moment. I'd like to go back to the point of entry and scoop it out before I make any concrete theories on the matter. Besides, shouldn't you be waking up by now? That flesh bag that helped us is sitting right next to you in the room we're in."

"I know." Naruto gave Kurama one last look before pulling himself from the depths of his mind and surfacing in the real world. As Kurama had said, the man was sitting right next to him in a chair. "Thanks for the help."

"Don't mention it. I'm just happy you're alive." Gildarts gave him a warm smile. "So about you joining our guild… You still up for it? I mean, I know we're pretty big on collateral damage and all that, but after this little stunt I was worried that you might want to back out."

Naruto looked past him and towards the doors. He could feel people outside without needing to use Senjutsu. Monitoring him was obviously a major thing for some reason. And this man seemed to not be on their side.

"I'd like to talk to you about it after I can leave."

"That sounds fair. I was going to see if you could get up and walk or at the very least, let me push you around outside. You're not exactly in that bad of shape."

"Didn't I tell you I heal fast?"

Gildarts smiled and nodded. The guy was pretty good and figuring out his act. The mage looked over his shoulder and stood up. "Do you want me to see if they'll let you out for a little walk?"

"Yes please. And get my clothes while you're at it."

Gildarts nodded and moved to the door. He walked out and found the doctor from before. The doctor seemed pleased to run into him again and quickly went into a furry about all the things they were still finding on the guy. "We just got some of the lab work back on the patient that is a little… strange." Gildarts faked a smile. "His bone density is higher than even a high ranking mage or the most physically fit person to date. His muscle tissues also seem to be thicker and sturdier than most."

"He's a new recruit for Fairy Tail and has some unique powers." The doctor eyed him for a moment and snapped the file closed. "Listen, you can think all you want about Naruto, but the fact remains that he's unique and there's nothing that you can say to prove he's not human. I only came out here to see if he could go for a walk. He'd like to go outside and get some fresh air. He has over developed senses and this place sort of smells bad to him."

"He's… up already? We had to increase his dosage to near dangerous levels! He shouldn't be up, let alone talking!"

"He has a high tolerance for drugs of any kind. So can he go or no?"

The doctor nodded dumbly, stunned into silence over the new piece of information. After a short talk and a brief talk with a nurse, Gildarts was in possession of Naruto's clothes and happily went to deliver the news.

As soon as he was inside the room he had to fight to control his laughter. Naruto had the bed sheets lifted up and was looking at something underneath it. Gildarts had an idea on what and couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face. It was actually rather priceless.

"You okay?"

"I look like a nine year old boy."

Gildarts began laughing. Yes that was rather funny to anyone that had never shaved down there and obviously for part of the surgery that he had gone through to get stitches they had to clean up whatever mess he had down there.

"Would you like some aftershave?"

Naruto gave him a flat look and the S-Ranked Mage finally lost it. He broke down laughing right there in the room and Naruto simply stared at him with annoyance flashing in his eyes.

"Here are your clothes." The mage dropped them in the chair and smiled when the blond looked at his clothes and then to him. "I have your gear right here." He produced two pouches and a half a dozen scrolls. "I didn't look at them."

Naruto was silent for a long time before he simply threw his sheets off and stood up in his medical gown. Gildarts turned around to give the shinobi a chance to dress in some form of privacy. Obviously he wasn't shy or just had done this enough times to not care anymore.

"So can I go out for a walk?"

"Yeah."

The Jinchuuriki threw his boxers on and then began throwing the rest of his clothes on. They were well cleaned and even patched up. His Tou-san's famous haori had been stained with blood from all the long battles he had fought in, the cuts and tears from the war that Naruto had fought in. His vest was cleaned as well and patched up all the same. Naruto couldn't even see the cuts or tears anymore. His vest hadn't been the greatest of things to look at anyways.

When his pants were on he gave the okay to Gildarts and then man turned to see him throwing on a mesh shirt.

It wasn't a strange thing to see. Most of the mages in the world actually wore strange clothes. Some wore clothes that went with their magic. It was just one of the many styles of clothing that went around in the world. It was hard for most shops to keep up with the weird styles of people today. And mages were usually the hardest ones to please. Tailors were always overworked because of mages alone.

Once Naruto was fully dressed he looked like a cleaned up version of the guy that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere only a day ago. Without the blood, the dirt, or the wear and tears in his outfit he didn't really look like how he did then.

"Can I have my things?" Gildarts snapped from his stupor and hastily handed them over. Naruto eyed the six scrolls then put them in the pouches he had once they were strapped back to his person. "Let's go."

"So where do you wanna head first to clear your head?"

"The beach."

Nothing was needed to be said from that point. The doctor tried to give Naruto a checkup before he went on his walk but the blond brushed him off and continued without saying a word to him. There was a feeling of despair that hung in the air when the doctor did start trying to get something from the shinobi but when that hit the doctor simply decided that the guy wasn't worth the trouble right now.

As soon as they exited the hospital Naruto was left in a daze at the sights and sounds he was graced with. Doctors were running around outside while metal boxes on wheels hauled in more people that were still being pulled out from the wreckage of their fight. Some of the people that were brought in were covered with burns that reeked of the black fire that Tobi could use.

Of course there were others that showed up as well, some that were crushed from the fighting, some with stab wounds from either falling debris that had sharp ends to them or from kunai or shuriken that had been deflected and just made a home in someone's body.

They passed through the city with no real need for speed. Naruto used that time to just look at what buildings that still stood and looked very articulate in their design. Some of the homes and buildings were just beautiful with well-tended gardens. The streets were paved with stones, just like the sidewalks with lampposts every twenty to thirty feet. It was just different to him.

The first place they stopped at was the beach. Naruto was already busy looking around for something or anything that may help him. Gildarts watched for a few minutes before finally speaking.

"You're pretty good at picking up on an act."

Naruto was silent as he looked around in total concentration to his work.

"So who was that guy you were fighting? He sure seemed determined to do you in."

"Is this where I came in from?"

The Fairy Tail mage sighed. "I'll answer your questions if you answer mine. But first you have to answer mine."

Naruto turned slowly and the look he gave made Gildarts shiver. Naruto sure seemed to have no qualms about believing that violence solved everything. Still, even with a look that he had never seen on such a level, he stood his ground and returned the look as best he could.

Naruto gave the man a serious look as he thought about answering him. Looking back out at the ocean he felt the pull of a strong chakra point. He could almost see it with his normal eyes. It was something he could visualize with great depth.

"He was a man with no name. He took two names that I know of. He was trying to kill me to take a special power I have to rule to world. He was trying to bring about a false ideal of peace that came in the form of an illusion. He would elevate himself to Kami with the method he was going to do. Though in order to do it he was going to kill a lot people to make it happen. He even started a war to take my power."

"That sucks. But you didn't appear here. You appeared about two miles out into the ocean. It wasn't that hard to miss two big splashes followed by a wave that actually came up into the harbor. I can rent us a boat if you'd like so we go out there."

"No need."

Gildarts had seen a lot of things but he hadn't ever seen anyone walk on water without first turning into something or doing something to their feet before starting. Naruto just walked out like he owned the water or like gravity didn't matter at all. While not nearly as strange as it was to see someone walking on the water, it was still strange to see nothing change with the guy or the surface that he walked on. Gildarts just scratched his head and chalked it up for another to ask about.

Gildarts, however, didn't possess the ability to walk on water and was forced to grab a boat. In all haste he rowed out to where Naruto was and kept it close to the strange man as he stood out on the surface just looking up. He could see and feel it too. There was a strange pull from this spot, not enough for a normal person that wasn't magically aware to feel, but enough to someone like him that he could feel it. There was no visible distortion or anything. The water still looked the same color just as the sky did.

Naruto suddenly turned his attention to the water and smiled. With an outstretched hand he pumped chakra into it. Gildarts waited in silence for something to happen. He wasn't expecting a large sword to come slowly flying out of the water. The sword was massive, so big in fact that he thought he'd need both hands just to hold it up or use it. Yet Naruto was standing there only using one hand. And again, that was another thing to ask him about.

"_Any ideas?"_

"_**Ask him if he saw anything strange from when we entered."**_

"Did you see anything strange when we appeared?"

"Not much of anything, really. The sky grew black for a moment and then the thunderclouds came in with your arrival. After that, it was just you two fighting to kill each other."

Naruto tuned him out and waited for Kyuubi's take on it. It didn't take long before Kurama was speaking again. _**"Judging by what we were doing in the Elemental Nations, it's possible that Madara simply tried to use a combination of abilities to counter ours and it destabilized the area around us. With the power of your Shinra Tensei, two Bijuudamas, and Madara's intangible and teleportation jutsu, it's possible that he might have destabilized the area enough to cause a jump. Doesn't his teleportation jutsu take you to another dimension anyways?"**_

"_Sasuke did say that it did, along with Karin. So it's possible that when he tried to evade our attacks after realizing that he couldn't simply overpower like most he just tried that and we were suck in and brought here. But that still seems a bit farfetched, even for just a theory."_

"_**Well that's the best I got for the time being. You might wanna talk to the new guy."**_

Naruto retreated from his mind to see Gildarts waving a hand in front of his face. "Yes?"

"You just zoned out. I was kind of worried about you? Were you crossing over or something?"

"No. I was thinking."

"You were thinking pretty hard then." Gildarts sat back down in the boat and looked at the sword again. "So how'd you call that thing up?"

"Where are we?"

The mage sighed. Naruto didn't seem to get that it wasn't his turn to answer a question. However, after a few moments of silence the shinobi sighed and answered.

"One of my abilities I possess. It's called Banshou Tenin. It works by pulling anything of my choosing to my location through the center of my body. Anything that my hand is outstretched to will come to me." Naruto didn't want to tell him that it could be countered but Gildarts seemed the type to figure that out. "Where are we?"

"We're in the continent of Fiore Okoku. We're at the southern part of Fiore called Hargeon Town and an hour or two away from Magnolia Town."

Naruto looked back at the two and clicked his tongue. The wheels in his head were turning at the moment. That much Gildarts could see.

"So where are you from?"

"The Elemental Nations. The continent is called that, but I'm actually from Hi no Kuni and was raised and trained in the village of Konohagakure no Sato. We never had any massive lakes or anything close by. The ocean was on the other side of where I lived and if you wanted to go you had a ways to travel before you could actually get to it."

"That sounds like a real pain. And I like looking out at the ocean."

"We had a massive forest though. Trees as far as you could see. I enjoyed being in the forest more anyways."

"Well there's nothing wrong with that either." Gildarts helped Naruto into the boat and watched as he made the sword vanish into one of the scrolls. "Okay, so how'd you do that?"

"I believe it's my turn to ask a question." Gildarts conceded to the point. "Why did you help me?"

The mage scratched at his head before answering. "Honestly, I had to choose a side to help. You didn't seem like the type to just want wanton destruction and you were actually trying to keep the fighting from the town. So I simply decided to help you based on the idea that you weren't here to just destroy everything. Plus, I can read people pretty well. You were honestly trying to stop him for a cause I probably can't understand to the fullest, but you were trying to protect people; myself included."

"I suppose that's a good enough reason. But there is still the fact that you're still helping me."

"I'll admit you're not as nice as you seem, but I'm only helping you because with me you'll only have a few questions, some of which might be personal. With anyone else they would have dragged you before the proper people and they wouldn't stop questioning you or experimenting on you until you were either left mental or dead."

"Well I have a good track record of destroying those that try to destroy me."

"I would imagine given the power you displayed in your fight. Anyone else would be clawing at you to try and get you to join them just for the power alone. With someone like you on anyone's side they would be able to boast their power, influence, and money. And I'm not going to lie to you about that. I am curious about it."

Naruto looked out at the water and seemed to recede back into himself, more so as though he were trying to think on the matter. Gildarts decided that there was no further point in staying out here in the ocean and began the slow row back to shore. The entire trip back, the conversation was about their respective worlds with both being mildly surprised by the answers given.

The Elemental Nations, the place where Naruto came from, sounded more like a brutal world where only barbarians could live happily. Wars didn't happen every other day, but they still happened almost on a daily basis. Naruto had been fighting in a war, one that had turned very bloody. While Naruto didn't know the percentage of those that could be turned into these "shinobi" that he spoke of as a type of person, it was pretty clear to Gildarts that these so called Kage's had no qualms about sending children to their deaths for the sake of their nation. That part really dug into him. Using children for war was just something no one should do. Kids becoming mages, that was something Gildarts could understand. But war? He just couldn't wrap his mind around that.

Rather than having multiple contents like what they had, the Elemental Nations was one major continent and had only dozens of smaller island that weren't truly habited. But instead of being one major nation they were split into several smaller villages. There were five major Nations that worked as sources of major power. They were named by five major elementals. Each Nation was run by a leader called a Kage, each being a leader that was appointed by their Nations' Daimyo.

These Five Great Nations were the sources of true power. Anytime there was a war it usually involved these five nations that fought for one reason or another. Each major war in their history was called a Great Shinobi War. These wars were fought only when a major war between all Five Great Nations. These wars were the bloodiest in their history and when it was over those that started the war were dead while those that finished the war had no idea on why it was started as they were the children of those that started them.

Smaller wars did occur, but Gildarts already had his thoughts concluded on this place Naruto came from. It was a rotten world with festering hate that couldn't be stopped or contained. So long as they existed in that world war would continue. People would kill the killers and then die for being killers.

Of course the same could be said for Naruto. This place was called Earthland, but the area they were in was called Fiore. Fiore was just one of several major contents, but it was the spot where this guild called Fairy Tail was located. The entire populace of the world actually only covered ten percent in terms of those capable of being Mages. The rest were normal people with skills in other areas such as farming, construction, fishing, banking, and tailoring. And while a great sum of them did these other jobs, an even greater number did the military work even if they didn't have magical powers.

While they very seldom had wars like what he had fought in, they did still have wars. These wars weren't really wars. It was a battle between guilds. These battles, while serious, weren't very serious. Some were serious, but nothing was as serious as the real battles that were being fought between the Light Guilds and the Dark Guilds.

The difference between these guilds was just as their types said. Dark Guilds took assassination missions of any kind. Any guild that took these missions, along with the mage that took them, were reclassified as a Dark Guild because they took these sorts of missions. Light Guilds, however, took no missions such as these. Because of this, the two types were constantly fighting. Dark Guilds were guilds that didn't orders from the higher power of their world, the Mage Council that dictated over all other mages. Any guild that existed went through them. So if you didn't go through them as a guild that also classified you as a Dark Guild as well, which, sufficed to say, very illegal.

Naruto thought that this world, while strange, was also a way to just regulate and control the world through force. To Naruto it just seemed like a way to control everything and point a finger at you if you said or did something they didn't like. It was no better than what Nagato had been when he was in charge of Amegakure no Sato. You said something he didn't like; you, your family, and your family friends all vanished without a trace.

This world, like Nagato's village, was nothing but a dictatorship.

"You weren't gone that long."

"I couldn't find my spot for fishing. Missed my chance." Gildarts smiled and walked out of the dock. Naruto turned and looked at him before looking back out over the ocean. "So is my turn for a question or yours?"

"It's your turn."

The mage put a hand on his chin and smiled. "How about we go to the forest? And yes, that's my question for you. Do you wanna go to the forest to continue our discussion?"

Naruto smiled and nodded. Without knowing where to go, Naruto waited for Gildarts to take charge and let him lead the way. Of course while this was going on, Naruto receded into his mind to speak with Kurama. _"Any ideas on how to get back?"_

"_**Not at the moment. Continue learning more about this world. I'll speak to you when we're ready."**_

The blond returned to the real world and noticed that Gildarts was staring at him again.

"Yes?"

"You were zoning out. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The young man looked away and then looked into the forest. "I would like to go to the forest."

Gildarts shrugged and accepted that the man was just a strange person. Honestly, he had no idea on what made the young man was thinking or what made him tick. The constant zoning out was slightly unnerving.

Once in the forest Naruto found a nice spot to sit down and smiled at the scenery. Despite the battle that had recently been fought here this place hadn't been touched. The birds that had most likely parted because of their fight had returned and chirped away happily as though nothing had happened here. As nerve-racking as it was, Mother Nature would always and forever be away from him. How animals could stave off something as disasters as their fight and go back to chirping and playing.

"Your power? What is it?"

"I'll share my abilities if you share me yours."

Kurama gave a low growl of annoyance.

"_**He knows I'm here but can't figure out how or why. Against my better judgment, we should probably agree and explain me to him."**_

"Fine."

"My mage ability is Kurasshu and Punkai. Kurasshu allows me to smash everything I come into contact with into pieces. I can even by used to crack other forms of magic into pieces, nullifying effects, reducing the magic's power and to deflect it. Even the most powerful spells are rendered useless when faced with this. Punkai is a magic that creates a net-like pattern which runs straight through whatever it touches, whether the target is tangible or intangible. However, instead of being destroyed, the objects that are touched split apart and form numerous smaller versions of the original. If I use this on a living organism, the recipient gets reduced into small, doll-like versions of themselves."

"I see. But how did you do both on Madara?"

"I simply blew him apart with Punkai and then used Kurasshu to finish him off. It's that simple. It's not that hard for me to use both at the same time. Now it's your turn."

Naruto licked his lips and considered what Kurama was technically asking him. Very few people accepted Kurama for who he was and even fewer accepted the new freedom that Kurama even had. It was just a horrible thing for both parties since most people feared Naruto to some degree for his power and others just feared Kurama for his past. No matter what good Kurama did some people just couldn't stop hating him for something he didn't mean to do.

"I will skip telling you about all of my abilities since you're only interested in one thing I have. But I must ask you to swear on your life to never speak of this again without my approval. Do we have an agreement?" The mage nodded without hesitation. "So be it. I am what the older generation of my people call a Jinchuuriki. I became a sacrifice for a source of great power without my consent. The power you saw was not mine, but that of the creature inside me. His name is Kurama, Kyuubi no Yoko. You will not refer to him as anything else but Kurama. Is that clear?"

"I guess."

The blond exhaled deeply. He had enough chakra and strength back to take him should he try anything funny with him. One wrong move on Gildarts part and Naruto was going to tear him apart. Kurama deserved some respect for what his life had been like before Naruto had figured out his name and began to realize that Kurama was just a victim just as he was.

With a few seals, Naruto placed his hand on the ground and let the red chakra flood out into a large pool on the ground. The puddle grew until it was twice the size of a basketball then began to pull together and take a form. The chakra formed a body, red fur, and nine-tails… and it was the size of your average house cat. It was tiny.

"So… this is Kurama? He's not what I was expecting."

"**And what were you expecting? Were you expecting some large beast so big that its size defies everything your tiny flesh bag brain could ever hope to understand?"**

"You're kind of mean."

"**I get that a lot, but I really don't care. I spent the second part of my life just hated for things I couldn't control. Tell me something; do you hate the puppet when they do something wrong or the puppeteer?"**

"I'd hate the puppeteer."

"**Good man. Now that you know I'm the source of the other power you can stop beating around the preverbal bush and ask any question you like." **Naruto snorted in the background. **"Perhaps you should make yourself scarce, Naruto. Chances are high that we'll talk about things you probably can't face at the moment."**

The blond gave the small fox a small glance before tapping the side of his head. Kurama groaned. Of course Naruto would still learn everything. By all means Kyuubi was inside a Kage Bunshin that he took over and turned into a small fox using only the red chakra he possessed. This enabled it to take a beating like a normal person because this body was actually part of his own original body and when he would return to Naruto he would get some of the memories back. It was all done this way so that when Naruto let him out he could work as a scout and give all the information to Naruto to let him know what was up ahead. Sometimes memories were better than actually speaking.

"Hey, listen. I don't really wanna know anything about your pasts that you don't want to reveal without good reason." Kurama blinked and looked at the mage with an incurious look. "I will, however, admit that I am very curious about it. But I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to do. Just by looking into your eyes, Naruto, I can see that you've had a hard life. Maybe you've had a life so hard that I could never comprehend it. Or maybe it's not as hard as I believe it to be. Whatever the case, you're clearly not a threat to the world and you're also just looking for your way in life."

"**Rather deep, for a human that is."**

"You don't have a very high opinion of us, do you?"

"**Humans are nothing but warmongering people that live life only for themselves without any thought for the person beside them. I have seen it time and again. Humans are nothing but monsters that want only to destroy everything they can't have."**

"Is Naruto the same?"

"**Hardly… Of all the humans to ever hold me, he is the only one that has ever called me by name and asked me to be his friend. Through our mental connection, we have come to a great understanding. His thoughts are my thoughts, and my thoughts are his. I have watched him from the very moment I became trapped within him. He isn't evil nor is he like the other humans I have come so dearly to hate."**

"So you hate me as well?"

"**I'm withholding my judgment on you. One good response doesn't make you a good man. Your actions are what make you a good man to me."**

Gildarts laughed a little. "I can respect that." He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "No offense, but we should probably get going. The hospital bill is going to be big and while we can get away right now, they will eventually start looking for us. So it would probably be a wise idea to just leave and hope that they don't come after us."

"That's more than enough of a reason to leave. Though… I'm not really too certain I want to leave this world to get back to mine just yet. My world isn't really in any condition for living with all the wars that was fought there. I would much rather like to explore this one for a while. Then maybe I'll return."

"And if there isn't a way back home for you?"

"Then I guess I'll just stay here." Naruto put his hands in his pockets and smiled down at his fuzzy company. _"Besides, here, you won't have to worry about me being used for evil intent. And it'll be the same for me. I won't have to fight without being forced to."_

"_**Are you really so certain of that?"**_

Naruto shrugged mentally. He honestly had no idea.

"Let's get going." Gildarts tapped the blond on his shoulder and flashed him a big smile. Naruto smiled back.

And just like that, they set out to explore the world. Of course the very first day that the thought of the bill they had both started laughing, Naruto more than Gildarts, because Naruto didn't have any form of money for this place and he honestly hated hospitals.

It was a long time before they even considered heading home. Naruto was the main reason that they never headed home in the first place. He enjoyed the sights and sounds of their world over his own. Even Kurama was partially taken by the sights and sounds, not to mention the food. While Konoha and any of the other Nations had a great selection of food, it was almost the same thing to him. They didn't have that problem here. They had flying fish and that was something he wanted to try for himself.

They traveled for months before they returned to where Gildarts' worked. It was a small little building that looked more like a castle and less like a modern day building like what they had all over Fiore.

"This is Fairy Tail," Gildarts explained.

"I was expecting something bigger," Naruto admitted. Kurama nodded mutely from Naruto's shoulder. Why should he have to walk when he could just ride on his shoulder?

"We'll it's not that big just yet. Our Guild Leader is thinking of renovating it eventually, he just doesn't have much of a reason right now." The mage looked thoughtfully towards Kurama and then sighed. "Not sure how he'll take to a pet fox though. I don't think we've had a mage with a pet as of yet."

"**For the hundredth time, he doesn't have a pet fox; I on the other hand have a pet human." **

Naruto just sighed and began the small trip to the inside of the guild. Gildarts followed, laughing at Kyuubi's semantics. It was always funny to see those two having their verbal spats. Usually they escalated into full force fights with Kurama usually on the short end of the stick. Being small was great for him, but not so great when it came to fights with his host.

"You know you say that but he is the one that gives you food." Gildarts paused to think about that. What he knew about Kurama basically contradicted that line didn't it? He was nothing but a corporal mass of chakra that had taken form and given a conscious that was divided from an even greater form of chakra that was sentient. So Kyuubi actually have to eat?

"**Just because he feeds me doesn't make me his pet. Servants have fed their masters, so does that make the servants the master or the servant in that relationship?"**

"Humans don't treat other humans like that, Kurama. Our people are far smarter and advanced that we're beyond that as a race."

"**Until I see such a thing, I will hold the idea that humans will turn other humans into slaves. That's just how I am."**

"Kurama, can you please play nice with Gildarts?" Naruto asked in a bored tone. Kurama rolled his eyes and hopped off of Naruto's shoulder to walk around. "So what should I expect from inside this place? You never talked too much about it. You just said that this place is actually a nice place but you never said what I should expect."

"Well… given your friends that you said you hung out with… I'd say you can probably expect the same thing as you do when you were hanging out with them. What was that one friend that actually was a heavy smoker that was laid back and never got involved in anything unless it involved something or someone that he knew and had to take care of?"

"Sarutobi Asuma…"

"Okay, one of the guys in here is like him. There are others that are like other friends you have if I'm thinking about them correctly. Though there's no one like that Kiba person you were telling me about. I'd really like to meet him."

"He's dead."

"Oh… sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. But the Guild Master, are you sure he's like the Sandaime Hokage?"

"If he was the kind of man that cared about his people and would lay his life down for his people, then yes. He's just the same." Gildarts patted Naruto on the shoulder and smiled at him. "Come on; let's go meet the Guild Master. I'm sure we're going to have to do some serious explaining."

Naruto wondered why he'd have any explaining to do. Didn't they take care of this already? They had spoken with others about what had taken place in that place they were at. Naruto had been attacked and only defended himself. The city was destroyed and all the blame was placed on Tobi, whom was dead. So what could they really hold against him?

The doors were thrown open and Naruto honestly thought even less of the place. It wasn't anything like what he was thinking it would be like. The place looked more like a tavern on the inside. Jiraiya had taken him to a few places like this. They weren't anything that he liked but that was because Jiraiya was general here to get drunk and on more than one occurrence he had been forced to drag him out. Not a great thing in his eyes. It was would have been okay if he was dragging a friend or even a parent out of there, but not his sensei. It should have been the other way around. However, Naruto wasn't capable of getting drunk; something that Jiraiya had taken advantage of in their trip.

What few people were sitting and drinking and laughing turned and eyed the two with big smiles. Some waved towards Gildarts while others turned their eyes on him. Naruto wondered if he should smile and wave or simply wait until Gildarts lined them out to speak with him. Lucky for both of them such introductions were delayed with the arrival of small balding old man that looked ready to beat the crap out of both of them.

"Gildarts… Care to explain a few things to me?" The small old man asked with a curious looking gaze on the famous mage. "Now this is going to sound funny, but there's this rumor going around that you found a young man with spiky blond hair that's joining our guild on the very same day this ungodly attack strikes Hargeon Town out of the blue and laid waste to more than seventy percent of the city. Do you have anything to say for that?"

"That does sound a little strange. But I found him before the battle. He even helped me in defeating the mystery man that came and began destroying everything in his path."

"I see. I see. Well that clears that up. But there is one thing that needs to be brought up." The small man reached into his back pocket and he withdrew a small envelop. Opening it, he took a deep breath and began speaking to them again. "This here is a medical bill consisting of the medical treatment to one Uzumaki Naruto and Gildarts Clive for the battle that took place in Hargeon Town. Now, here's the funny thing. The last known sighting of them in Hargeon Town was when they left the hospital to go for a walk. It was then that they never showed up and the bill was sent here, which, mind you, was not cheap. So… got anything to say for this?"

"**Yeah, got anything to say, Gildarts?"**

Gildarts looked down at Kurama as he smirked from beside Naruto. He had learned his lesson it would seem about pissing either person off because he was off on the other side of Naruto where Gildarts would have to go through Naruto to hit him. Naruto even seemed ready to defend him too.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself," Naruto began only to have the old man throw up a hand to silence him.

"I already know who you are. Word travels fast. But obviously you don't know me, Uzumaki Naruto. My name is Makarov Dreyar. And I will get to you in a minute."

Naruto smiled nervously as he backed up and let the Guild Master lay into Gildarts for causing an uproar in the Council. Now they were on some sort of list for collateral damage and being watched because of this. Naruto lost focus and began looking around until Makarov suddenly turned on him with an evil glare that could turn sand to glass.

"And don't think you're not escaping any of this! You're in trouble for following along with his crazy idea about being a part of our guild or wanting to join. I'm not complaining about that by any means. For standing up for the citizens of Hargeon Town the way you did, you obviously have some skills and a good heart to want to help the innocent. But there are rumors that you're not even human given what you were shown to do during the battle. Though these rumors are wild and have no real proof, but there are rumors about you going around."

Naruto looked weary for a moment. "What other rumors have you heard?"

The old man inhaled deeply before speaking. "There is a rumor that you can walk on water, use water, fire, and even earth as a form of combat that is supplemented by super speed, increased physical strength, and a control over gravity. All these abilities are used by high class mages, people that would be well beyond even that of Gildarts here." Said mage rolled his eyes. "And there's another thing that is confirmed. Rapid healing and a strong immune system to even magically enhanced drugs. Though you are human to some extent given that your medical records prove this, I am curious about you. You don't strike me as a prodigy nor as an old man in the disguise of a young man. If you were using magic to hide your age, I would have picked up on already."

The blond looked away with his eyes closed. So was his life already ruined here as well?

Makarov closed his eyes as he continued. "I don't know your backstory and in truth, I'm not all that interested. I understand better than anyone that people have secrets. And while I don't really want to know about your past, I feel I must know something about you considering that I don't want to bring harm to my children. So who are you?"

Kurama hopped up on Naruto's shoulder and eyed the small man darkly. **"We are Servant and Master! My name is Kurama and this is my pet, Uzumaki Naruto!"**

Naruto reached up and clamped Kyuubi's mouth shut with a weary sigh. "Give it a rest, Kurama. There's no point in acting tough when you're that small. Besides, Makarov has a right to know who I am."

Gildarts gave the young man a sad look. Makarov saw his look and sighed inwardly. Why was he a sucker for people with torn pasts?

"Alright; let's go to my office." Naruto nodded mutely as his face became very scared. Whatever he was about to learn it was clear that it was going to be a stark ride for him.


	3. Nineteen Years Later

I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

From the minds of the HumanWiki and Myevltwin.

Anything you read in this fic should not be recreated or taken serious. If you find this stuff offensive, do not read this fic. You have been warned.

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 3

The beeping of the alarm pulled Naruto from his nightmare before it even uttered a sound. With a single swipe the thing was off the nightstand and on the floor in an array of broken parts that made it up.

Raising a kunai to his head, he put it against his temple and sighed while applying only a small amount of pressure. Blood slid down his face but he didn't even care.

"Get out of there," he mumbled.

Throwing the sheets off he wasn't surprised to see a small note resting in on the other side of his bed. He snatched it up and began skimming over it. It was the usual thing for him. Girls could never tell him they were done with him to his face. They were scared to see him angry. He didn't blame them at all. He knew that if he ever got mad things generally broke.

"**Nice image."**

Naruto looked over to where a small fortress of pillows was assembled in a comical fashion under a pile of dirty clothes. Years of living on your own gave you the knowledge that if it was your place, it was your rules. He who paid the bills made the rules. So if Naruto paid all the bills, he got to make all the rules. But even so, some things needed to change. And he really needed to do his laundry. It was starting to smell again.

"You got a problem with me sleeping naked, Kurama? It's my place to it's my rules. Got a problem with it?" Naruto asked while moving to the refrigerator.

Honestly, one would think that after nineteen years of living together in Earthland, Kurama could at least learn Naruto's daily routine after having a girl over. You bring girl home from bar. You get girl in bed. You get naked. She gets naked. Then you have mad, crazy, passionate sex that just leaves you staring at a ceiling with wide eyes and wondering how the human body can even contort in such a way.

But no… Kurama had to go and question everything he did. Kurama was the ultimate wingman and he still didn't get it. Girls loved cute things more than ever in Earthland. They loved them so much that they got stuffed versions of whatever they thought was cute. If a duck was cute, it was soon turned into a stuffed animal that was then bought and hugged to death by some randomly aged girl that thought ducks were cute. And when the girls saw Kurama they squealed in delight, hugged him, and allowed Naruto to put the moves on the girl. And Kyuubi being able to speak was an added bonus. Chicks loved all things that were cute and that could talk.

And despite this, Kurama didn't understand why Naruto waking up without any clothes on and walking around his place was a normal routine. For nearly eighteen years now he'd done this and the first year had just been something similar only in boxers. Naruto knew how stupid that was. Kurama had practically seen him the day he was born and had seen all that he had to offer. He just didn't like the idea of Naruto walking around naked. They already had one person in the guild doing that. Naruto didn't need to join that little fan club.

Grabbing a bottle of water and slamming the fridge shut with his foot, Naruto walked back into the bedroom where Kurama was clawing his way out of his little den. He called it his safe haven when Naruto had a girl over. Naruto just called it his hidey hole. This usually turned into a comical fight where if people were there got the show of their live. There was nothing like watching a young man in his early twenties fighting on seemingly even terms with something that was the size of a tissue box.

The little fox growled in the back of his throat and stretched with a mighty yawn that only a small animal could create. Naruto snickered as he watched the small Kyuubi shake about and then drop to the ground to do his usual routine.

Naruto sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at his reflection in the mirror. Nineteen years here and he hadn't aged any. Gildarts was always annoyed by this. No matter how many years went by, Naruto never aged at all or changed in appearance. He still looked like a young man in his late teens to early twenties. He had the body that all men dreamed of.

Naruto didn't mine looking the way he did. He saw it as a great thing. It was great for him because he felt like he was being given the chance to live a second life again. Naruto could be a kid when he wanted to and do strange things that he felt like he was robbed of. He never ate candy until he was sick back in Konoha. He never ran around and picked up girls just for the sake of picking up girls when he was young teen. Most of his life was spent fighting one thing or another. He got to do all those sorts of things here. And he wasn't being treated as some sort of life changing super weapon that could destroy building

Kurama was also on the loving end of this. No one knew who or what he was other than the fact that he was a nine-tailed fox that was the size of a house cat. No one knew that he was some sort of giant beast that could destroy mountains and cause tsunamis with a swing of its tail or the creature that had attacked a village or city and destroyed most of it. So Kurama was living a very happy life now all thanks to this.

The only real downside to living here was that Naruto had to learn a new form of money and how the world worked. It wasn't like his where if you didn't like someone you could actually just have them assassinated. You could do it, but you'd end up in jail. Things like that usually went to the police or Guilds and Makarov had no intention of letting his Guild become a Dark Guild. Naruto didn't even like the idea of killing anyways. He could finally live somewhere where he wouldn't have to kill anymore unless there was no helping it.

And with most of his friends having died in the war there really wasn't much to return to. Sure there were a few still alive. Shion was still alive and she enjoyed his company back then before the war truly started. Shizune was still alive, though she was crippled. And there was Kiba's sister. The war made them good friends. There were others that were still out there that were alive, just not very many.

Finally deciding to get around, the blond downed his water and tossed it in the trashcan while grabbing some clothes before making his way to the bathroom for a shower. He absently scorned himself for ruining his bed sheets again. And not just because he had sex on them, but because he could see a few cuts and puncture markings where his nightmare had made him fight unintentionally.

Jumping in, he could only scorn himself even further for even succumbing to the nightmare.

His days were great; filled with love, laughs, joy, and drinks strong enough to actually get him drunk. But his nights were terrible. One day of the week he'd go through a flashback where his nightmare was a battle that he had put out of his mind only for it to return with horrific natures. Things were worse in them. If he killed someone by removing their head, the dream showed him the same thing but with frightening aspects that he couldn't understand. It was almost like he was watching himself fight these battles and being a child again that was lost and didn't understand what was going on. Makarov, after learning Naruto's past and after being told about his nightmares, made sense of them.

"It's a form of post-traumatic stress syndrome where you relieve your battles in dream form. Anything you've put out of your mind because of the fighting will haunt you in your dreams. It will never end. You can only pray that they are few in number and regularity."

Naruto punched the bathroom wall and dented it. His head was hurting and he could hear a tiny voice in the back of his mind mocking him. The war had been brutal, yes. He had done things. Horrible things that he didn't want to truly relive. He had been lucky to not experience them again or the ones where his control over Kurama went wild and changed the landscape. He didn't need to lose control of his power in the middle of town and cause problems for his Guild.

He finished his shower and stalked into his bedroom where Kurama was pacing back and forth. "What's wrong with you?" Naruto tossed his towel on his bed and began getting dressed.

"**It's snowing outside and I have to go to the bathroom." **

Naruto snickered. Just like a real animal, when it snowed or rained Kurama refused to go do his business outside. He could easily use the toilet like any normal human because he was smart enough to, but he still liked going out doors for one reason.

"Guess that means you can't look at the next door dog and do your oh-so famous line." The fox chuckled. "Why do you even bother telling them that anyways? You're just pissing it off."

"**I think it's a good way of letting all the animals in this place know who the alpha male is. I take the biggest dump so therefor I am the alpha male."**

"Your logic makes no sense. How does being able to take a crap bigger than that crazy ass big dog make you the alpha male? You're like a rat to it. That dog is bigger than what Akamaru was. And you're picking a fight with it for what reason?"

"**I'm smarter than it and I know I can take it. And also, I do take bigger dumps than it."**

"Probably because I don't feed you cat food or dog food or whatever normal type of food I'm supposed to feed animals around here. I feed you steaks, rabbit, fish, noodles, sandwiches, and all other sorts of food that's not even supposed to be feed to animals."

"**You forgot to mention you let me drink alcohol."**

"That's a form of drink."

"**Whatever… You don't have any more of those photos do you?"**

"And if I did?"

"**I'd punish you by not being your wingman."**

"Like I care about that."

Kurama shrugged his shoulders and ran into the bathroom. The blond chuckled as he watched the Bijuu shut the door and then start taking care of his business. Naruto never bothered questioning it. He just decided that this was one of those things that would start an argument about nothing really that would in with a fight so bizarre and inhumane that someone would comically walk in and then walk out in a slow motion wondering what sort of hell they had just walked into.

Deciding that he needed to get something to eat he finished throwing his clothes on, this being a pair of blue jeans and a simple white shirt with an orange flame in the center of the shirt. No need to get all dressed up for cooking in his place.

The blond pulled out some eggs and bacon and started cooking breakfast. Naruto had never once thought about the fact that it was strange to feed Kyuubi this kind of food unless he had a girl present. Breaking his normal routine was that Naruto did bring a girl over last night and normally he'd be cooking for them and getting a funny look for feeding his "Talking Fox" human food. They could understand fish, but not bacon or anything else.

After Kurama had finished and the food was severed Naruto ideally began to wonder what he wanted to do today. He knew he needed to go the guild, see the others, and probably drink some new rookie under the table without even trying. It would be a good way to make a few quick jewels. Of course he didn't need the money because of the books he sold. While a lot of the people in the guild saw it as a bad thing to do, no one could deny that what he wrote was rather fun to read. And it sold rather well. So he had enough money to actually stop working at the guild but continued just for the hell of it.

But on the other hand, the idea of doing a mission for the guild to help increase its reputation was also a fun thing to do. Out of the members in the guild now, Naruto was among the few that could actually do a mission without blowing something up, much to the amazement of Makarov since most of his members were constantly blowing stuff up, stripping in random places, or drinking on the job. A few of the members could do a mission without blowing something up, but those people usually didn't take as many missions like the others did.

And the idea of doing a mission in the dead of winter was never a pretty idea. Those types of missions usually involved cutting down trees, finding some rare snow animal or killing said snow animal, teaching a group of kids how to make a fire. Some of the missions were just so insane it wasn't even funny nor was even capable of being understood. The mission before his last one had been one of those. He had to find an object, take said object to a man that he also had to find, learn what the object did, take said object back to the place he found it, and then leave it there in a different position than what it already was. He made a thousand jewels from it, but it was a mission that had both Kurama and him scratching their heads in confusion.

Of course the upside to this was getting to drag Kurama through the snow. He hated cold places. He was a being of immense power should he ever truly escape that could flatten mountains, cause tsunamis, howl and change the landscape, and yet being out in the snow or rain was his ultimate weakness. Of course he didn't have near a tenth of his true power and the body he had didn't even give him a chance to fight back for real. If he was out in his real body and that small, Naruto could honestly picture him being a force to be reckoned with. And fighting the neighbor's dog would be a breeze for him.

Sure Kurama could play fight with anyone that wasn't willing to go to the extreme and decapitate him or something, so him latching onto someone's ear when they made fun of how small he was, was usually about the only sort of fighting he got into. However, he did fight almost day and night with Happy with Happy always losing. The poor thing lost more fights than he actually started. Kurama just couldn't play nice with that poor flying cat. As soon as Kurama had seen him, he just instantly hated him. Not because he could fly, but rather because he saw him as a threat to his territory. Fairy Tail was basically his home and he was the only animal living there and "Working" there. And now they had Happy. He just felt like he was being replaced.

"I'll be heading to the Guild today to look at the mission board."

"**Thank you for sharing. I worry about you all the time. What time will you be home, son? I'd really like to know."**

"I'm trying to be nice here."

"**I'm not." **He took another bit of his eggs. And again, Naruto thought nothing of it. If he had a woman over, he would have thought differently. **"Okay, enough horse play. What mission are you thinking about taking and are you taking that psycho chick with you? You know the one I absolutely refuse to let you date."**

"You have no control over my dating life, Kurama. And I have no idea." Naruto was about to take a drink of his water when his thoughts turned in on that statement alone. "What girl are you talking about?"

"**The one who hugged me way too much for my liking. I know I'm cute and all, but that girl…" **He shivered. **"She was evil. Pure evil."**

"What are you talking about? Lisanna wasn't evil. She thought you were cute, but she wasn't like how some of the other girls are with you. She never dressed you up, pulled on your fur or hugged you until you were screaming for air. You actually liked her."

"**When I was around Mirajane, yes! She scared the shit out of me."**

"You contradicting bastard. You loved her as well. In fact; you are the whole reason we dated in the first place. Why are you doing this?"

"**To make you ask stupid questions. And the only reason you two never lasted long was because of me in the end. Well me and that hospital bill you racked up. And the girl I'm talking about is that angry redhead. You know, the Demon Girl?"**

"Erza Scarlet…" The blond groaned.

Of course Kurama would have issues with her. She had red hair. Anyone with red hair like that was instantly on his hate list. Not because they could by some strange turn of events be related to an Uzumaki from his world through some unknown form of magic that neither could understand, but because they simply had red hair. Red hair on a female made him think that they were an Uzumaki by some form and could seal his ass away so fast that he wouldn't have time to blink.

"**Yeah… that psycho."**

"She's not a psycho, Kurama. You just don't know how to play nice with her. She's not evil."

"**Has she given you the "Look" at all? It scares me. I think she's related to your mom or Mito. She has to be related to that woman. She was evil! Evil! All women with red hair are evil, I say!"**

Naruto began tuning him out as he went on his usual rant about women with red hair. Honestly, two women screw him over in life to protect something and he has no trust in any of them. He might as well have just gone around and said he didn't like people with blond hair as well with the way he acted sometimes. He basically had two types of hair color he could scream about because of his family. His Tou-san sealed him away inside of Naruto with the help of his Kaa-san who was originally his holder as well. And he had said what their seal was like and loved the seal he had with Naruto because he didn't have giant pieces of wood jammed through every single part of his body. Mito's seal wasn't nearly as bad, but it was still bad and she sealed him away as well because he was deemed a "Threat" to the world. If they had left him alone he would have left them alone. It was that simple.

"…**and she plays with sharp objects! Are you even listening to me?"**

"Honestly, I just tuned you out."

Kurama lunged from his side of the table and tackled his blond haired host to the ground for some mock fighting. Oh it was a fun day to be him.

(-)

Naruto scratched his nose as he walked through the two feet of snow. Despite all the advancement when compared to Naruto's world, they didn't have some sort of object or creation or spell that he knew of that could remove snow from a sidewalk. Sure you could probably use a fire spell and risk burning everything around you down, or you could do it the old fashioned way and simply shovel it off, but what really was the point when you had something that could do it for you?

He had no problems walking through the snow and no doubt there would be a mission at the Guild requesting someone for a job to remove the snow from someone's area or the sidewalks in general. So in all actuality there was a way to get rid of it, you just paid someone else to do it. But a lot of the people who did pay for these random things had kids and Naruto and Kurama both agreed that if you had kids, you had yourself a free work force until they came of legal age to get a job that you had to pay them for services rendered. Jiraiya had once stated that was why he wanted kids so he could have a free work force if he ever settled down. He'd never clean house, do the dishes or the laundry. He'd have his kids do it. And that was something Naruto was all in for. Get kids, get free work force, and never do a single thing again. Life would be great.

What few people who actually were outside shoveling snow smiled and waved at him as he passed them by.

In the nineteen years Naruto had been here he had become something of a legend much like Gildarts, Laxus, Mirajane, Erza, and the newly rising Natsu and Gray. They were making their rise to fame in the Mage world, though the things there were known for wasn't something one should be proud of. Gray would strip randomly and on more than one occasion had actually been forced to take someone else's clothes, namely their underwear. And Natsu was constantly setting fire to almost everything. Any mission he went on was completed, but usually the money they made was spent on repairs for whatever it was he destroyed.

Naruto was famous for a few things. The first was that he had the record for completing the most missions in one day. No one could top it because of his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. So if anyone got close to his record he'd just go and clear the board by taking every mission and have hundreds of clones run around making them happen. It was quite a sight to see hundreds of spiky blond haired young men running around on the ground or the roofs doing missions. The other was because of his womanizing routine. All females were warned thanks to their favorite magazine spokesman that Naruto was the ultimate lady killer and was a known Super Pervert. But that still didn't stop any of them from speaking with him, going out to dinner with him, or sleeping with him. He blamed all of that on Gildarts and the fact that all of his Senseis in his world were known perverts. And he was a guy.

And besides, it wasn't like he was in any hurry to have kids either. He didn't need some demented five your old version of himself running around town painting things and begging for attention. No doubt they'd be just like he was when he was kid. Naruto was a hellion because he wanted attention and no one ever gave it to him. And he wasn't sure anymore, but he had heard that if you were a hellion or a misfit when you were growing up, your child would be just the same and even worse so you could understand what it was like. It was a simple thing called Karma.

The Guild finally came into view and Kurama was thanking whatever all mighty being he believed in because he was cold even inside Naruto's coat pocket. Even if Naruto wore his formal Shinobi gear, he still dressed the part for winter. He just had a really thick coat over it all and actual snow boots so he didn't have to worry about freezing his toes off. First time in the snow here and around some of his friends had resulted in a change of clothing that he hated. How could anyone wear tight fit jeans and expect to fight in them?

Shoving the door open he was immediately spotted by two individuals, one being a small blue cat, the other being a well-built teen with a slightly tanned skin tone, black eyes, spiky rose-colored hair and wore a black wait coat with gold trimming with no undershirt, white knee-length trousers, a thick black wristband on his left hand, black open-toed sandals, and a white scarf.

"Naruto! Fight me!"

The teen was in the air flying towards the blond and then in the blink of an eye was sent crashing to the ground. The blue cat cried and flew down to his friend and began shacking him while Naruto shook his head with his eyes closed.

"Natsu, why do you want to fight me when you can't even touch me?"

"I'll touch you one day!" He cheered not once realizing how creepy that had sounded.

Kurama poked his head out Naruto's coat pocket and looked at the grinning idiot. Even after being secretly hit by the Shinra Tensei and smashed into the ground the boy smiled and laughed it off. Only the thirteen year old Naruto ever did that when he wasn't in a real fight. Jiraiya had done the same thing to him numerous times when they trained and Naruto just laughed it off.

"**I'm not even going to bother with that one."** The tiny Bijuu scampered up Naruto's arm and situated himself on his shoulder. Naruto just shook his head as he watched him knock some of the snow off before sitting down. **"I don't wanna freeze my ass off!" **

"_That really doesn't make any sense given the fact that you're a Bijuu and probably thought that temperatures well in the negatives were nothing but a simple breeze in the fall." _

Kurama had nothing to say to that. No point in trying to explain his hatred of the cold to someone that could put on enough clothes to stop a kunai from going all the way through him or touching flesh. Stupid human.

Naruto helped the teen to his feet and patted him on the back before he made his way over to where Alzack Connell was leaning back and talking with Bisca Mulan over a cup of coffee. He smiled at the two and clapped his hands right behind Alzack scaring him enough to make him fall out of his chair and onto the ground, gun drawn and pointed at Naruto's face.

"Would you stop doing that?" Alzack demanded.

Naruto shrugged and sat down on the other side of them.

Alzack and Bisca were very strange to Naruto. He had never seen anything like what they wore. Alzack wore a long brown coat that was similar to a poncho with thing strips hanging from the edges. It covered most of his body, together with a shirt with its sleeves rolled up, torn pants with strips similar to the ones on his coat hanging from their edges, held up by a studded belt with a skull shaped buckle, and simple boots. It was a western style of clothing, a place where he was actually from. He had long black hair that had a shade of purple to it and covered the right part of his face to match his black eyes.

Bisca was the same. She wore a western-style hat that she always wore. Naruto had never once seen her out of it to his knowledge. She also wore a polka-dotted neck scarf, and a pair of reddish brown boots. She wore a strapless one-piece dress decorated by spiraling motifs with darker, striped edges. She had long, straight green hair that reached down to her lower back with a pair of long bangs framing her face. She had strange brownish purple eyes and still had her red lipstick that she also wore.

"I'd rather not stop doing that." Alzack put his revolver up as he moved back into his chair. "I'd really like to know how to use a gun. Are you two ever going to get around to showing me how to use one."

"**You don't need to learn how to use a gun, Naruto. The men in your family have penises."**

Naruto palmed his face. He didn't even need to see the annoyed expression on Alzack's face to know he was contemplating shooting Kurama at the moment. He might as well. Bodily damage to him was about the only way to make him understand that you couldn't make fun of everyone for laughs. It was-

A gunshot rang out and Kurama screamed a moment later.

The entire hall went silent and Naruto looked down to see Kurama lying flat on his back on the ground. His paws twitched in a comical fashion and Naruto ideally wondered if that was Kurama's way of getting attention or trying to start a fight with Alzack. If he was trying to do the latter he was going about it the right way.

Naruto looked back to his western styled friend and noticed that his revolver had a small stick with a flag hanging out of it with an orange star on it. Bisca snickered as she looked over the table to find the great and power Kyuubi no Yoko passed out on the ground like he'd actually been shot.

"You want him?" Naruto finally asked. "It's like raising a child, I think. You can have for a few years and learn what it's like. He screams at night for no other reason than to scream like a child. And you have to feed him since he can't feed himself. Not to mention you gotta bath him as well. You want him for a few years?"

"No thanks," Bisca answered sharply. "I have too many pets at my place anyways. Erza say's I have just enough right now."

"I still don't see how you can have pets at your place. I thought they were prohibited?"

"They are, but Erza's head girl so she can actually call the shots. I'm on her good girl list."

Naruto made a face to show he understood and nudged the passed out fox with his foot to jar him awake. Kurama was quickly back up on the table and staring at the manic with the gun. Naruto patted him a little too hard on the head and offered a warning glare to keep him in line. It was too early for him to start causing trouble.

"So what are you guys going to do today? Any missions?"

"No," Alzack answered quickly. "I was thinking of staying indoors today. Too cold for my tastes right now."

"I'm doing the same," the female gunslinger added. "I'd rather stay out of the cold weather as best I can. The only reason I came over here today was to hang out with everyone. And I've made enough money to take some time off. What about you? Are you taking a mission today?"

Naruto looked over at the board. It was already filled with requests. Maybe taking one wasn't such a good idea, but it beat staying home and not doing anything. And he didn't like the idea of getting drunk right now or trying to pick up girls. One was his limit for the week anyways. He wasn't going to be like Jiraiya and try and get three or four girls to sleep with him. In all their times traveling he'd only pulled it off once.

"I don't know. I just got back the other day from one. That mission took me four months to finish. It was a major drag too. I don't wanna do missions like that again." He balled into his arm as he banged his head onto the table.

Bisca laughed and patted his forearm. "It's okay, Naruto. Just because you're an S-Rank Mage doesn't mean you have to do S-Rank Missions. You could always put a team together and take charge over them."

"I don't really work well with others. I hardly work well with him anymore." Naruto motioned Kurama with his head without looking up. "And besides, I'm not a leader. I'm a follower by nature. I'd sooner follow than lead. That's probably why I always let any of the others lead me around on missions. And I've been an S-Rank Mage longer than even Laxus!" The blond Jinchuuriki looked up and into the eyes of the two gunslingers. They were smiling at him. "I'm not telling you guys how old I am."

"We didn't ask." They chimed in unison.

That was an unspoken rule of thumb. No one dared to ask how old Naruto was. Naruto had practically helped people like Gildarts, Makarov, Macao, and Wakaba raise them. He had been around so long it seemed that he was the older brother figure or something along those lines to a few of them. Natsu sure as hell just looked at him as another rival while Levy had grown up looking to him like an older brother. Mirajane had always seen him as the ultimate challenge until Lisanna died. That was a terrible day for all of them.

Deciding that it was best to check out of the board anyways, he smiled and excused himself to look at the board. The jobs weren't anything good. As predicted most of them were all about the snow or fire. Gather logs for the fire or clean the sidewalk for an old person. None of them really sounded good, and it wasn't like there were others he could take. Some were just strange.

"**How about this one?" **

Naruto looked to the one his tenant was talking about and immediately felt like crushing his head between his fists. "No. I'm not taking a mission to explain to someone insane woman that she doesn't have testicular cancer. And how does a woman even come to that conclusion."

"She's a hypochondriac," a stern voice answered.

Naruto sighed to himself as he watched Kurama scamper into Naruto's coat pocket. All it took was for her to speak or be seen and Kurama was on edge. That was an accomplishment all on its own. Did his Kaa-san have that kind of power? Could she just look at Kurama and make him squirm?

"Erza, how are you?" He decided that turning to face her was insane. She was just going to walk right up beside him anyways. Why bother turning and facing the firing squad on this one. Kurama was sure to get the two of them hurt.

"I'm good. And she's always been this way. She's eighty years old you know."

"And that's part of the reason I don't want the job."

"And here I thought you'd enjoy taking something like that."

"Is that a dig at my reputation as a womanizer or as a Super Pervert?" He turned and regretted it.

Erza was a beautiful woman. She almost looked something like Uzumaki Kushina. He didn't have any old photos of her, but he always decided that if he had seen old photos of his mom, this was what she'd look like just without the gear that Erza cared and her brown eyes.

Erza was a stunning woman with long scarlet red hair that ended at the small of her back and had dark brown eyes. Her chest was rather full, just like Bisca's, and she wore a standard issue Knight Chest piece and a blue skirt with thigh high black boots. The Fairy Tail insignia was printed on the chest piece of her armor, showing the world just what Guild she belonged to.

"**It's the Demon! Run!"**

Erza's hand moved like a snake and yanked Kurama out Naruto's pocket before he could react. Erza held him up by the scruff of his neck. He was shaking. He looked like a dog that had been caught peeing on the carpet and knew he was in trouble.

"What was that?" Erza demanded. Kurama stammered and was promptly shaken a few times. "What did you call me?" She repeated.

"**The Demon! And you are a Demon! You're a scary, red haired, psycho…" **

Naruto yanked him out of her hands and tied his muzzle shut with a rubber band. Though it would silence him verbally so that no one could hear him talk, Naruto would hear him mentally when he started screaming in his mind. Bad thing there mental link.

"Sorry about that, Erza. You know how he has a fear of redheads."

"Why is that? You've never explaining that to me?"

"Kaa-san had red hair and was always screaming at him about something." He wondered if that was even partially true. Kyuubi hadn't ever said whether or not Kushina had talked with him. He only told him about the sealing chamber they had him in. Even he felt pity for the poor guy. That was just cruel. "Anyways, are you doing a mission? If so, do you wanna team up?"

"Not this time. Maybe next time we can team up. I do not really want to do one that takes me out of town today. And I don't wanna do one that involves shoveling right now." Naruto could see her point and the two started skimming over the jobs that were being offered. "Congratulations on getting back in one piece by the way." The whisker faced man looked over with a brow arched high. "The mission you took was a dangerous one. I wanted it."

"It wasn't that bad. And you could have had it if you wanted it."

"You have seniority over me. And how was it not dangerous? You were gone for four months. It was a year quest. For you to get back in four months isn't all that amazing, but it was a hard quest regardless."

"The job was easy. Too easy in fact. You could have taken it. And I'm not that old."

"You've been here longer than me and been an S-Ranked Mage longer than I have. You have seniority over me."

The Jinchuuriki sighed. Arguing with her was pointless. She was too damn stubborn for her own good. And fighting her was out of the question. He could take her, but he was sure that she'd only fight harder to beat him because he was a known pervert. She could easily say he fought her to just get a feel.

Erza grabbed one of the job offers and gave it a wave. "I'll be taking this one. Later, Naruto."

The blond watched her head over to where Mirajane was and then was on her way. Naruto watched her go for a few seconds to enjoy the few of her backside before the low growl of Kurama got his attention. The little Bijuu was glaring at him while trying to remove the makeshift muzzle he was now burdened with. Naruto smiled and decided that taking it off was stupid at the moment. Kurama was probably just hiding his pain at the moment. The little guy could be pretty emotional at times.

Naruto skimmed over the jobs again before deciding to be a good sport and take one about cleaning the snow from the sidewalks. He freed Kurama and set him on the counter as he gave Mirajane the orders. She smiled and gave the okay, all the while looking down at the little fox that had decided to stare at the ground.

"You staying or going?" Naruto asked.

"**I'm not freezing my ass off. I'm staying."**

"Fine. Just don't get into any trouble."

"**Who do you think you're talking to?"**

"A nosy fox that loves tricking and tormenting people."

Kurama growled and was instantly calmed by Mirajane as she began scratching him behind his ear.

"I'll keep him company and in line," she promised. Naruto nodded without ever once looking at her.

Naruto vanished with Natsu after promising him that he'd fight him once the job was done and nothing was broken as a result of the job. The kid needed a job done where he didn't break something. It didn't take the two long to get where they needed to be and get their shovels. Naruto decided that using his abilities for this was out of the question. There wouldn't be any point in it anyways. And Natsu could learn some restraint as well from this.

Natsu shoveled the snow with a slow motion. He didn't want to do this. He'd sooner try burning it down before he resorted to this. But Naruto promised to fight him if he did this with him without breaking anything or burning down anything.

"So how have you been since I last saw you before my trip, Natsu?"

This was the real reason Naruto dragged Natsu along. Natsu and Naruto were as close as Lisanna had been to her own two siblings. Natsu could recover from anything, just like how Naruto could. Naruto and Natsu were always a pair when he was younger before Naruto started taking harder missions again. He felt like it was his job to watch over him.

"Good. Me and Happy found a nice lake to go fishing in all the time. Are you going to go fishing with us one of these days? It's really fun."

"Last time I was near a body of water with you, I taught you how to swim by throwing you in and nearly letting you drown. You're lucky Elfman could actually swim."

"And as I recall, you were lucky to be stronger and faster than Erza and Mirajane since they were trying to beat you up for throwing us in the lake."

The Jinchuuriki chuckled. When Natsu was a kid and had first joined, Naruto, on a summer day, had decided that Natsu needed to learn how to swim. He taught him by throwing him in the lake they were all about to go fishing in. Lisanna at the time was really into him, of course for them it was a childhood sort of friendship. They were all they really had at times. Elfman, Mirajane, and Erza had tagged along, but only because Erza respected Naruto and Mirajane somehow got the idea that it was a way to challenge Erza to something. End result was Naruto throwing Natsu in the deep end to try and teach him how to swim, and then he was forced to throw Elfman in just to try and rescue him. Erza and Mirajane both tried to kick his ass for this while Lisanna cried for her brother and Natsu.

"You do know how to swim now, right? My lessons paid off."

"I don't remember seeing you do that to Gray."

"Gray already knew how to swim. He was way more mature than you were back then anyways."

"How can you say that? He's a stripping pervert!"

Naruto laughed as he stabbed his shovel into the ground and leaned on it. Natsu looked like he was going to break his shovel just for the comment alone.

"How are you holding up?" Natsu asked quietly.

Naruto shut his eyes slowly. "Fine…all things considered."

"Are you going to take another long term job again?"

Naruto knew what he really wanted to say. _"Are you going to run away again?" _

Lisanna was someone very special to Naruto. They weren't dating or anything. She saw him as an older brother as well because of how much he cared for them when they were kids. Elfman never really looked up to Naruto the same way that she did. Levy looked up to him the same way, but with Lisanna it was something else. She honestly saw him as an older brother. Naruto was strong, brave, and would throw his own safety out the window for them. She respected him for that. Somehow their bonds were formed and when she died Naruto just broke down.

No one knew about Naruto's real past except for Makarov and Gildarts. It was a well-kept secret because of how bloody it was. No one needed to know that Naruto was a born and raised killer. No one ever thought that the fun loving man that had joined their Guild was a testament to the evils that mankind would go to just to survive. And no one needed to know except for the future Guild Leaders of Fairy Tail or anyone that Naruto thought needed to know. That was why he lived alone. Bring a girl over to sleep with him was just one of the things he'd come to accept in his new life. It made the pain go away.

There wasn't really a single person inside the Guild that Naruto thought he could relate to. He thought he could relate to Erza because of how she had looked when she first showed up. He remembered the look in her eye and the way she shoved human interaction away. She wanted to be alone, live alone, and never be with anyone. Naruto understand that part in a basic way. You become attached to someone and they suddenly die, you feel alone and the pain just makes it worse as a result.

"I'm taking another mission. I'll probably be gone for a few months… maybe even a year. I don't really know for sure."

"Why? Why leave?"

Naruto shook his head. He couldn't explain it to the Dragon Slayer. How could he explain the pain he was going through to him? Just saying that it hurt too much would make him tell the others that he was still down about the whole thing. He wasn't going to be burden for any of them. He made his mind up on that. Makarov was willing to take him in so long as he didn't bring harm to Fairy Tail. Naruto wanted to make sure that he never did anything to break the rules and keep his word. He wouldn't verbal admit to his own suffering.

"We need more clients." Natsu snorted a small jet of flames from his nose. "Laxus, Gildarts, Erza, Mystogan, and I are able to do high end missions with great results and bring more business. If I don't take these S-Ranked Missions, the people with smaller missions won't come."

"I suppose that's a good reason. But what about our fight? You're not going to skip out on it, are you?"

"Of course not. Now, let's get this job done so we can go have our fight." Naruto offered a smile and Natsu began digging through the snow with renewed vigor. Naruto watched for a moment before he started helping as well.

(-)

Happy floated around the Guild with his fish in hand while Kurama was lay flat on the bar with Mirajane scratching him behind his ear. His eyes closed, he connected himself to Naruto and found that he and Natsu were now finished and fighting somewhere outside of town. The news that he'd be leaving again made him just a bit sad, but it was the only way for Naruto to actually deal with the stress of his new life. No point in letting others know of his weakness.

Happy floated down in front of him and poked his muzzle with his tail. "Do you think Natsu will bring back some tasty fish for me?"

Kurama opened one eye and shrugged his shoulders. **"I don't know. I doubt it though. The lakes are frozen over."**

"Natsu just burns the ice off."

"**That'll kill the fish after a while. You won't be able to enjoy your taste food if he continues to do that."**

Happy went into a panic and his mind worked overtime to figure out how many fish were left in the lake where they fished all the time. Kurama watched him worry himself into the ground before he flew off to find Natsu and let him know that melting the ice off with his fire was a bad idea.

"That was nice of you."

Kurama looked up at Mirajane and huffed. She was a beautiful woman with long white hair that got a bit curly at the ends with two bangs framing her face and reaching down to her lovely chest. A piece of her hair that was short went upward in a ponytail fashion. She wore a long, sleeveless maroon dress with a large, pink bow, and similarly colored trimmings framing her neckline and waist. Her blue eyes and curvy, voluptuous body, coupled with her large breasts had once made her the girlfriend of Naruto. But she was more violent back then and Naruto was generally on the receiving end of too many jokes about their relationship. They broke apart as a result of other things, namely Naruto being gone all the time and Mirajane just deciding that she wasn't going to be tied down just yet.

"**I only did it because Naruto likes fishing there during the summer. That idiot doesn't need to ruin it for everyone." **

"Still, that was very nice of you." Kurama snorted and rested his head down on his paws. Mirajane stopped scratching and went into the kitchen and return with some cut up pieces of steak for him. "Hungry?" He smiled and began eating the little pieces of food as Mirajane went back to scratching him behind the ear. After a few moments of silence Mirajane spoke in a soft voice. "Is he taking another long term mission again?"

"**Probably…" **Kurama sucked down one of the pieces and licked his lips before siting up straight and picking up one of the pieces of meat. He rolled it around between his thumb and forefinger before munching on it. **"Do you wanna travel with him? I think he'd like the company. I know I sure would. I wouldn't be a wingman for him."**

Mirajane laughed. "I'd like to go, but someone has to stay here and help take care of the place. Who would do it while I'm gone?"

"**Naruto could always leave a bunch of his clones if you wanted him to." **The fox stopped and thought about that. Given how rowdy this place could get it they would be destroyed in a matter of days. Mirajane got hit almost once a week by a randomly thrown bottle or something along those lines. **"Never mind… that's a stupid idea."**

"Sorry… I know that you'll get bored, but I'm needed here. Naruto also doesn't know how to keep track of the job logs. And I'm sure the Guild Master can go back to doing it, but he's got enough trouble as it is right now with just Natsu and Gray alone. Those two alone cause more problems for us than anyone else. Erza and Cana aren't that bad, but they're still pretty bad. And who's going to cook while I'm gone? I'm just needed too much around here. Sorry."

"**It's not your fault these flesh bags can't do stuff like what you can." **The white haired mage smiled and playfully tapped him on the nose to give him a warning. **"You know it's true. You leave or get hurt and these guys are totally screwed. You want proof? Leave for a few days. Call in sick. Do something that has you not being here. And then come back and see what they have to say. I can absolutely guarantee you'll be amazed and what they have to say."**

"As fun as that sounds, I'd rather not." Mirajane leaned over the counter and looked out at the members that were having a good time and avoiding the storm outside. "I'm really going to miss you two."

"**You wanna see him off? Maybe you can get him to stay a few extra days by putting him in the hospital like your last night in bed. And speaking of that, did you find the "Hat" funny? Gildarts got him that." **Mirajane smiled and turned away to hide her laughter. Kurama grinned and turned on the hall with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. **"You guys wanna know funny stories about Naruto? I got a few."**

The Guild Hall erupted into cheers and what few members that were expecting an actual story turned to listen in. Kurama just smiled and tried to think of a few stories to tell when the doors opened.

"**Naruto and I were traveling through the mountains a long time ago and where we lived there were these massive forests that were all separated by the beautiful blue rivers. And while he's looking out over the edge of the road, Naruto was just mesmerized by the beauty he was seeing and I could see this sign that warned people that the edge was unstable and not safe to stand on. I'm looking at this sign thinking, "How the hell do I get him on the edge to fall," because I was mad at him. So I'm looking down to see where we're standing and we're not standing that far away from the edge. So I tell him to be careful for the edge because it's unstable. I'm not joking, he walks out onto the edge and just jumps up and down going, "I'm lite enough to stand here without falling," as he continues to jump. About the eighth jump the edge breaks away and I'm now watching as Naruto tumbles down the side of the mountain screaming the entire fall. I could actually tell when he stopped falling because he just went silent."**

The fox stopped as he started laughing as well. The members were laughing as well as they tried to picture a smaller Naruto jumping on the edge of a mountain travel path.

"**After a few minutes of running down the hill I find Naruto. He's got his head stuck in the ground and is flailing around as he tries to free himself from this little prison he's not gotten himself in to. So I help dig him out and he's breathing hard, I'm breathing hard, and we're both lying on the ground just looking up at the clouds as they go by. After a few hours of silence, Naruto gets up, walks up the mountain edge that he fell down, and I kid you not, he started rolling down it for fun. Two hours later he stops and just declares, "That's not very safe," to me. As we're walking away, I'm just staring at him wondering if he did that to waste my time in the end or if he was just stupider than what I truly thought he was. He wasn't very bright back then. Natsu would be smarter than he was back then."**

"I can't see Naruto doing that," Wakaba said from behind the giant of Fairy Tail. "Natsu's may not be the brightest person in this Guild, but I can't imagine that Naruto did something like that. That doesn't sound like him."

"I can't see him doing something that crazy either," Macao voiced as well.

"**Do you remember when you were a child? Didn't you do stupid shit? And be honest! I remember watching Natsu and Gray punch each other into submission and then get up to go get something to eat! I can remember watching one of Naruto's friends' falling out a tree that he had climbed all the way to the top and then climb right back up like nothing happened. You wanna tell me that you never did something stupid or strange that would shatter your hips now! You wanna tell me that?"**

"I can remember kicking Kurama through a window and launching him about two miles out of town!" The entire Guild turned around to see Naruto standing with his arms crossed and Natsu looking very out of it. He had a goofy grin on his face. "Though if we're sharing stories; I remember a time when Kurama was huddled in fear as he a rabbit established dominance on him. Now that was funny to watch. You know he's a killer right? He's kills dogs, cats, rats, and anything smaller than himself."

"**I haven't killed a damn thing since we joined this Guild!" **Kurama groaned. **"Not for a lack of trying."**

"You keep telling yourself that." Naruto jabbed a thumb in Natsu's direction. "We did the job without anything being destroyed by any means possible. So we can give Natsu a gold star or something. That said," Naruto looked over at Natsu as he wobbled around with a smile, "I promised him a fight and I could be wrong, but I think I corrupted him with the events after."

"I fucked some bitches!"

The Guild went silent.

"And he learned some new words. He's also fixing to learn two new words: Adult and Dosage. So I'm going to go to the nearest drug store and get him some stuff to shut him up. I'll explain when I get back." Naruto shoved Natsu towards the others and waved before exploding into a puff of smoke.

The entire Guild looked at the Dragon Slayer as he wobbled around with a goofy grin before muttering something and giggling at random.

(-)

Naruto pulled a beer out of the fridge and shut the door while resting his back against it. He popped it open and took a drink. It wasn't the kind that could get him buzzed or anything. It was just like drinking water for him with the exception of the taste.

Kurama was already curled up in his little den or hidey hole or whatever it was to him sleeping. They would be leaving early in the morning for their mission.

Naruto had gotten rather lucky this time around. He didn't need to look for a mission. The Council had come directly to Makarov searching for members for a team that was to be sent out to find a Dark Guild that was up to something. This was a big one because they had been hitting major towns and no one knew where their base was. So it was classified for a long term mission. Naruto had no problem with that at all. He wanted to be away for a while. His last mission had promised two years max. He got it done in four months.

With Gildarts, Laxus, and Mystogan all out doing their own jobs, Erza doing her own thing, and Mirajane taking care of the Guild, this left Naruto to go with this new team that was being put together by the Council. He had asked to go alone, but the Council wouldn't have that. They wanted to make sure this little group was dealt with before they could spread. The only thing Naruto really cared about was if these other people would let him do things his way. He could find them fast and deal with them. The orders were to have them brought back alive and intact for questioning. They didn't say anything about how their mental health had to be.

Sipping on the beer, a knock at his door sounded and he closed his eyes. Of course she'd be here now.

Grabbing another beer from the fridge, he walked to the door and slowly opened it. On the other side was a tall woman with a slim figure, big breasts, long, wavy, flowing brown hair that almost reached her waist. Pleading brown eyes stared at him in wonder as she hugged the brown fur coat closer to her form. Naruto knew enough to know she was wearing her bikini top only underneath.

"Cana, what's up? Want a beer?"

He held the door open and she slowly walked in and made herself at home in his kitchen. Naruto shut the door and followed, handing her the promised beer. She ran her finger along the rim for a long time before speaking.

"You're leaving again, aren't you?"

"Is that a problem? It's not like I have a choice in this one."

"You could refuse."

He could have refused. That was very true.

"Are you running away again?" He arched a brow. "I'm not stupid, Naruto. Lisanna dies and you become a ghost around the Guild. We were all hurt, but we've all moved on. Why can't you?"

Naruto took a sip and looked down at it. Damn thing was already empty. He hadn't drunk it that fast did he? "I don't know. Death always lingers with me. It was the same when I lost my mother. It followed me around for years before I was right again. I guess she's following me around right now."

The brown haired mage rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap. Are you running away from her or from me? Lisanna died, you broke off from Mirajane, and then you started flirting with me only to run away. I'm starting to worry about you. Everyone is."

"I'm perfectly fine. If I was having problems I'd be talking with someone, now wouldn't I?"

Cana shook her head. "No you wouldn't. You bottle everything up and never let anyone else help you. You're just like Gildarts; always has to do everything alone. Don't be like him. Please… for my sake."

The whisker faced man leaned back and smiled at her. "I'm not like your old man, Cana. I can actually control my powers and I can do it better than he can. I'm not a risk to everyone else like he is. He could honestly kill someone with his magic. He probably has." Naruto wondered if she knew about the fight with Tobi that Gildarts had. She knew he was his old man. Even Naruto knew. He was there when she was born after the divorce. He even told Gildarts about Cana.

"I know you have great control, Naruto. But I'm not talking about that. He thinks he has to do everything on his own. You do to. Even when I met you, you were always on your own. You and Kurama were always doing jobs alone unless you were paired with someone that the Council needed you with. You never really let anyone do anything dangerous with you. It's like you want to protect us from you. You treat yourself like a monster. And when you go off to fight it's like you're fighting a ghost or something."

"I appreciate your concern, Cana. But I'm fine. And the whole reason I don't take others with me is because I'm strong enough that I don't need help. And if I ever did run into something I couldn't handle on my own, I have friends that can help me out of a jam on the spot. I have a few unique abilities that you don't know about. So you don't need to worry about me, Cana. I'm alright."

"Stop being this way! I know you're hurting. Why won't you talk about it?"

"I'm not hurting, Cana. I'm just… needed elsewhere."

She snorted and drowned her beer. "That's a typical response from someone that's running." She stood up and made her way for the door.

Naruto hung his head and stood up, following her out the door. "Cana. Wait. Just… wait." She paused and turned and then started walking again. Naruto jogged up to her and grabbed her wrist. "Cana, look… I'm sorry. I don't like talking about things like this. Death and me… we really don't get along."

"You think you're the only one that has issues with it?"

"No. I know I'm not the only one. It's just… different for me… I guess. They really hang with me. And I'm sorry. But I just never wanted to be a burden I guess. I'm sorry. I don't like talking about these things."

Cana tore her arm out of his hold and faced him fully. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sorry too."

Naruto turned back to his place and looked her over. "You're coats back at my place. It's still snowing. Wanna stay the night?"

She smiled. "Are you going to try and get me into bed with you?"

"Well I do only have one bed."

She pushed him against the wall and pressed her body against his. "Then I guess you'll just have to sleep on the couch then, won't you? After all, we don't want my big scary father to get involved, no do we?"

The blond chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her slender frame before looking into her eyes with a big grin. "I'm not scared of your old man. I can take him."

"I'm sure you can. But let's not test that theory." Cana tore herself from his hold and walked back inside. Naruto followed, staring at her ass rather than the back of her head. "So that thing this afternoon with Natsu…"

"We went to see one of my friends. You know the one I'm talking about." Cana shivered. "He saw Natsu and I had fought and decided that Natsu needed healing. I spoke out against it and Natsu went along with it. I think my friend was trying to string me along because I saw him whisper in Natsu's ears. I guess he told him to say that because when he went into the room with him he just started randomly screaming it. To be honest, I don't think Natsu knows how to do it."

The brown haired mage laughed. She could see that being Natsu's problem in the future. Natsu wasn't that stupid, but still, he had his mind on fighting and finding his adopted father. Girls were the last thing on his mind. Cana knew because she wore skimpy outfits to the Guild most of the times and Natsu was one of the few men that would continue to look her in the eyes. All other males just let their eyes lower. She liked it when they did that and took full responsibility for it. She was just out to look good and prove that all men were perverts. She'd get Natsu one of these days.

Back inside, Naruto made his way to his bed only for Cana to grab him by the shoulder and spin him around. "You get the couch remember? You only have one bed."

"But it's not my bed unless I'm in it." Smooth talking would get him nowhere with Cana right now. Their relationship was in the beginning phase where they didn't sleep together. They just ate together and spent time together. Dating was different from just picking up girls for a one night stand.

"As true as that is, you're going to have to work a lot harder for me to get in your bed with you." She teased.

"It doesn't have the usually bed sheets right now. Those are being washed and replaced. So how are you going to stay warm?"

Her answer was waking up Kurama and asking to snuggle. The little fox grinned and eagerly hopped up on the bed as Cana began to strip out of her pants.

The last thing Naruto saw before the door was shut was Kurama giving him the finger with a big grin. Once the doors shut, the blond sighed and turned to his couch. "Lucky little bastard. I'm not feeding him in the morning," he said while finding some thin blankets. He soon crashed on the couch and grumbled himself to sleep. It sucked to know that your tenant was a bigger player than you were at times.

(-)

When Cana awoke she found Kurama gone, the door still closed, and a letter addressed to her on the bed. She laughed as she opened it up and read the contents.

_Cana, we'll be back in a few months. This shouldn't take long. Keep Natsu in line and watch over Levy for me. _

_Uzumaki Naruto._

_P.S. There's stuff in the fridge if you want it. Eat it before it goes out of date. Just don't touch the milk. Naruto has a tendency to keep it even after it spoils. _

_Kurama, The Stud Muffin._

She shook her head and tossed the note back on the bed. Making breakfast sounded great to her anyways.


	4. Who Needs Rules?

I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

From the minds of the HumanWiki and Myevltwin.

Anything you read in this fic should not be recreated or taken serious. If you find this stuff offensive, do not read this fic. You have been warned.

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 4

Lucy Heartfilia stared up in wonder at the large building before her. It was huge. It was the headquarters of the famous Guild, Fairy Tail. In all her time traveling around Fiore she had finally been able to find a member of the Guild and join them. Well she didn't have the stamp, but the man she found had promised that she could join. There wouldn't be any problems at all.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail," Happy cheered as he jumped up and down before the grand entrance to the building.

Natsu smiled broadly to the blond haired girl as he cracked his back. The doors were opening slowly and she could only smile at him as he turned and assured her inside. Everyone was having a good time drinking inside and being merry.

As soon as Natsu stepped through the threshold of the doors, he screamed, "We're home!" as loud as he could.

The Guild turned to face him and smiled at his arrival.

"Natsu, Happy, welcome back!" Mirajane smiled as she continued to serve drinks to everyone.

"You overdid it again," Krov called out, alerting Natsu to his position. "I read about the Harujion incident… in the newspaper…"

Natsu's foot connected with his face and sent him sprawling out backwards. In that moment the entire Guild broke down into a fist fight with chairs being thrown, bottles being broken over heads, and random magical attacks being sent out to stun others.

Through all of this, Lucy could only stare in shock as she enjoyed the moment of being here at Fairy Tail. It was a dream and a sight that she'd never thought she'd get the chance to see or have. Even as other Guild Members slowly began to realize that Natsu was back, Lucy was able to see famous mages like Gray as he arrived in only his boxers, Cana as she drank from her barrel of name brand alcohol, Elfman, the giant that talked about how manly everything was, and Loki, the top ranked "Mage you want to have as your boyfriend," as it was put in the Weekly Sorcerer, though now his image was ruined by the two girls he had his arms draped over.

Others soon appeared over her. Mirajane appeared greeting her with a warm smile that she was famous for. Even as the brawl began to get worse and worse, she remained strangely blind to it, even after Lucy pointed it out. Were any of their members actually normal?

"It happens all the time," she explained with a smile. "You don't have to about it. Any…" she took a bottle to the head and fell over onto her side, "…besides, it's it fun this way?" she asked as blood dripped down the side of her head.

A crash beside them caused Lucy to turn and freak as she spied Gray pulling himself from the rubble of a dressed set of chairs and tables. Lucy screamed in pure horror as her virgin eyes were raped by the sight of Gray in his birthday suit as he cried out for his boxers that Natsu was twirling in one hand.

"Lady, if you don't mind, please lend me your under-"

"No way I'd do that!" Lucy punched him in the face, electing a high pitched laugh from Natsu as the Dragon Slayer lost it.

"Ah geez… People with no elegance are really troublesome, don't you think?" Lucy turned and soon realized that she was being carried bridal style by Loki. "By the way, which modeling agency do you belong to?"

"What is this?" She shrieked.

The brawl continued and Lucy was left to the mercy of a dozen other men before a blond haired young man wearing half a mask on the side of his face appeared and scooped her up to take her to safety. Finally out of the crossfire, her gaze turned directly to him and she had to step back as Mirajane walked over with a bandage now wrapped around her head.

"They're getting pretty reckless, don't you think?" Lucy pointed and the blond haired man sighed. "You're obviously new here, so might I get your name?"

"You're… You're Uzumaki Naruto, Fairy Tail's Super Pervert, S-Rank Mage, and the world's most world renowned porn author!" She freaked and stepped a good distance away while holding her hands out. "Stay away from me! I'm warning you!"

Naruto blinked and removed the mask piece from his face while staring at her. Mirajane was laughing now and Naruto could only sigh in defeat. "I'm not as strong as the rank says. I'm not even worthy of S-Rank. Mirajane here can kick my ass before I could even blink. Don't get me started on Elfman."

"Naruto!" Natsu's violent shout made the blond turn and great the Fiery Mage with a smile. "Fight me!"

The Jinchuuriki laughed and blurred right into the center of the brawl, dragging Natsu along the way as he appeared in the center of the group. He flung Natsu into Gray, getting a double team kick from Elfman and launching Natsu into the ceiling. Naruto stood with his knowing smirk as a little red fox with nine-tails appeared on his shoulder.

"Bring it on!"

The fighting continued for another two minute as everyone fought in a no holds bar knockout with Naruto beating everyone face first into the ground. No matter how they approached him, they all went down. Even when they dog pilled him they were thrown around. Naruto was a monster, much like Natsu.

Cana groaned as she took a beer bottle to the temple. "So noisy," she hissed. "I can't even drink peacefully." Standing up, she retrieved a card from her pouch and it began to glow. "Guys, it's time to end this…"

Gray slammed his fist into his hand and a blue light erupted around it. "I've had it!"

Elfman's left arm grew and was covered by scales as he flexed it and screamed a battle cry.

Adjusting his ring, Loki sighed. "What a troublesome bunch…"

"Come and get me!" Natsu's hands exploded into flames.

Naruto's eyes changed from blue to white with rings in them. "I'll take you all on!"

"MAGIC!" Lucy screamed in pure horror.

"This is getting a little too intense." Mirajane placed a hand on her chin and wondered if she should intervene.

"That's enough!" A loud voice screamed. A shadow appeared over the fighting mages as a black figured nearly hit the ceiling from how tall it was. "Cut it out, you fools!" It roared.

The busty blond screamed in total fear as the giant roared down on all of them. Immediately the entire Guild went silence and the fight broke up. Everyone turned to do their own thing with the exception of two people.

Natsu laughed and looked straight up at the giant. "You all go so scared! This match is my…" Anything else was cut off when the giant decided to step on him and flatten him against a table.

It was then the second fighter stood up, and screamed, **"Come on, bitch!" **Lucy stared at the little nine-tailed fox as he stood up fully and raised its tiny fists to fight the giant. Looking down at the little fox, the giant of a man snorted and the tiny fox dropped down on all fours with a little cry of, **"Well I said my piece," **before running to where Naruto was and scampering up his leg to rest on his shoulders.

With the fighting now officially over, the large man turned and took notice of Lucy as she began to panic. "A newcomer?"

"Y-y-y-yes…"

The large man made a grunting noise and Lucy screamed as she thought she was about to get crushed. Instead, the giant began to shrink and shrink… and shrink until it stood at knee height when compared to her.

"Nice to meet you," the now tiny old man said with a wave. Lucy was dumbstruck by this as the little old man turned and flipped up onto the second floor railing, hitting his head on said railing before he could sit on it and look over the entire group. Holding up a thick wad of papers, he glared down at each and every member present. "You've done it again, fools!"

He started flipping through them and sighing with each new page he flipped through.

"Look at these documents I received from the council." He flipped through a certain amount of pages before starting. "Gray, good job on sweeping out the smuggling organization. But you walked around naked in town afterwards and **ran away after stealing underwear that was being dried.**"

"But… wouldn't it be worse if I were naked?" He asked

"Then don't be naked in the first place," Elfman suggested.

"Elfman," the tiny man shouted. "You had a mission to escort a VIP, but you assaulted him during the mission!"

"He said, "Men are all about education," so…"

The Guild Master sighed in defeat. Of course Elfman would have issues with that.

"Cana, drinking fifteen big barrels of alcohol, and charging it to the council." Naruto began laughing at her problem. "Loki, flirting with council member Reiji's Granddaughter and a certain talent agency charged us for damage compensation too."

The small man sighed and hung his head in shame. Why did his Guild have to be so destructive?

"And Natsu… You destroyed the Devon Thief Family, but also destroyed seven other houses the belong to the townspeople… leveling a historical clock tower in Tully Village, burning down a church in Freesia, damaging parts of Lupinus Castle, Nazuna Ravine Observatory collapsed and thus stopped its operation, and now you've destroyed half of Harujion's Port."

_Most of the articles covered in the magazine were down by Natsu, huh…? _Lucy realized. Sure he was bad, but he couldn't have been _this _bad!

The funky hat wearing man continued down a list of names, naming off each member, electing a surprise from each member listed until he stopped on Naruto.

"Nice to know I'm not on the list for breaking stuff," Naruto grumbled.

"Naruto, this isn't on the list at all," Makarov growled. "I've received numerous complaints from husbands, boyfriends, and even girlfriends…" A few of the girls whistled at this. "…that you are still sleeping with the female clients. So for my sake, and I'm sure everyone else's sanity and safety, please stop sleeping with the female clients!"

Naruto just smiled. "It's not my fault I can talk my way into their pants. They should have learned to never underestim-" Anything else that was said was cut off by a loud scream of pain from the blond as Cana grabbed him by his hear and yanked him down to her mouth.

"What's wrong with you, sleeping around on me?! Do you have a death wish?"

Natsu started laughing and pointing at him. "Looks like the great and power Uzumaki Naruto, The Golden Flash of Fairy Tail, is getting his butt kicked by a girl!"

Cana looked directly at Natsu as Naruto sighed. "Cana, hold that thought for one second, please." He removed her hand from his ear, turned to face Natsu, and with an outstretched hand said, "Banshou Tenin." Natsu screamed in horror as he was pulled from the ground and towards Naruto. The blond reeled back and punched Natsu in the face. Natsu hit the ground hard and was out like a light. Grabbing Cana's hand, he put it back at his ear as the small fox shock his head. "Continue."

Holding his ear now, she smiled thankfully then launched back into her rant as she dragged him off.

The entire Guild laughed at the expense of Naruto. It wasn't every day they got to watch him get dragged off by Cana for any other reason but to get drunk.

(-)

"So Natsu took the new girl to go find Macao?"

Makarov nodded grimly. Even he was worried about the blue haired mage. That man was a member of his Guild, and thus, one of his children. He practically helped raise the man into the person he was today.

"Yes. I would have liked to have sent you, but this works out better for us anyways. I do not have to pay Natsu to do this."

"You wouldn't have had to pay me either. I look out for my friends." Makarov conceded to Naruto's point. "So any idea on when the council's going to need me again? I'm not that eager to be heading out again as their personally little pet."

The Guild Master nodded sagely.

For the last year Naruto had been a bit of a personal weapon for the Mage Council. Whenever a Guild or someone got out of line, they'd send him in. He was classified as a Mercenary for Hire during these moments. The council claimed innocence and that they had no knowledge of his existence. Only Makarov knew that Naruto did these sorts of things as a way to hold off the PTSD. In the time before Guilds were even formed, wars did happen and at the time doctors had called PTSD exhaustion. The troops would leave the battlefield for a set time and return. However, after thirty days of not fighting this "Exhaustion" would kick in and the soldiers would slowly begin to break down.

It wasn't the best idea, but it was one of the few ways for Naruto to actually keep his secret and the council off his back. So long as he did what he was paid for, they'd look the other way and play innocence to wherever Naruto came from. It wasn't a bad life. They had recruited him for dealing with issues that no normal person could deal with. It was an under the table kind of thing. They didn't issue him a handler because they knew where to find him. Naruto wasn't about to hide from them so long as they carried out their end of the bargain of dealing with him.

However, there was a real trick to getting the jobs done for the council.

For them to give him a mission a wealthy man would show up and issue an S-Ranked Mission that was for him only. The Guild would take the request and Naruto would then leave to take the mission. The area that was listed for the mission was a rendezvous point where he'd get his real mission. Once the job was completed he'd turn in the real job to the real client. Payment over this was done in two methods. He'd receive cash and special treatments for his PTSD. The fake client would pay for the job that was also done and give his thanks for the great job done

The payment for the PTSD treatment was for Naruto's sake as well. When they had recruited him they had asked about any medical problems. When he explained that he had PTSD they had all gone silent. They promised to help him but only as long as he worked for them and did whatever they asked without question. His answer had been that so long as he never had to harm his friends or his Guild, he'd never question anything they made him do. While that had wounded a few of them, it was clear that they were going to use him and help him. The promise to treat his PTSD, however, was going to happen because they were worried about their own people. People suffering from PTSD were dangerous, even in their world. They wanted it taken care of.

Looking down at his hands, the whisker faced man sighed and said, "I had it again. It wasn't as bad as it was last time, but they're still happening."

"They'll get worse no matter what. You can only endure them. There's no real treatment for it."

The blond groaned inwardly and looked up at the ceiling. "If only one of my friends was still alive. If Ino were alive, she might have been able to seal off certain memories or something. I'm not sure if that would work, but I'd be willing to try anything to make these memories go away."

"If you seal them away they may only get worse." The Guild Master took a thoughtful pull from his pipe before adding, "And this is the first time you've mentioned this woman? Is she another one of your flings?"

"No. Ino was a good friend and a great scout. She doubled as a pretty good shrink for a while. I just wish I had been able to save her. I wasn't even near that battle when she died. It was my fault. I could have been there if I hadn't been training and waiting for Madara."

"What's in the past is in the past. You can't change anything from the past. You can only change the outlook you have on it in the future."

"**Wise words for a human." **Makarov gave the tiny fox a hard glare before empting his mug of beer. Kurama chuckled and looked to his host. **"You need to stop letting that woman walk all over you. Stand up for yourself every now and then and show some backbone. Your father had less of a spine then you do."**

"As amusing as that thought sounds, she didn't hurt me and you know it. Cana wouldn't ever hurt me anyways. Besides, shouldn't you be keeping your mouth shut since she is behind you?" Kurama shrugged, showing no signs of regret as the brunette popped him once on the head after walking in fully. Kurama mock cried and then went back to his meal of a large steak. "So are you doing a mission today or are you going to just lie around the Guild?"

"Are you doing a mission today?" She winked and the blond haired man shrugged. "I'll probably take one but I don't know yet. It depends on what comes up. If you take one I'll probably stay at the house and get something ready for you for when you get back." Naruto nodded his thanks to that while Kurama rolled his eyes. "I guess I should get going and make sure Mirajane hasn't decided to get rid of all my alcohol."

"If she did that, I'd be mad too." The old man grumbled. "But go have a look just in case." Cana laughed as she walked out, swaying her hips just a bit to entice Naruto. The old man leaned over for a better view and stopped short when Naruto began growling. "I'm looking. Not touching. There's a difference."

"Don't look or touch. She's mine." Naruto stood up and snatched his own drink up before leaving. Kurama was perched on his shoulder as they departed for the outdoors. There was probably something that needed doing somewhere anyways. He could probably find something to do to just kill time. It wasn't like he wanted to take a mission and finding a nice place to write didn't sound fun either. So that only left a few other options.

(-)

News traveled fast about Natsu heading out to find Macao. The new girl, Lucy, went with him, though people were having a hard time remembering her name for the moment. It would only last a few weeks before people began calling her by her real name. Mirajane had made a bet with Bisca on this. Cana got in on it as well, but she wasn't all for it.

Traveling down the path towards his home, Cana wondered whether or not he was even home. Naruto was a strange one at times. He was closed off when he was away from everyone. When he was around the others he was a happy go lucky idiot it seemed. He laughed, drank, and fought with everyone. He never let Natsu win the fights they had, but he did let all the girls win. What they didn't know about these fights was that Naruto was actually biologically designed to have girls beat on him.

Naruto's pain was a strange one to her. Mirajane had said once that Naruto was a soul that only knew suffering and sorrow. He hid it well. The brunette hadn't believed her at the time, but she now could see what only a few could see in him. Deep down, Naruto was a little child that had been misused and hurt for something he couldn't possibly understand. He was a special person that knew more pain than what should be allowed to know of. Cana wondered if Mirajane knew more than what she had let on to. Could she and Naruto have actually shared pasts?

The buxom mage dug in her pocket for the key and soon fished it out. The door creaked open as soon as she placed the key in the hole. Naruto hadn't locked the door when he left or he was home and simply didn't care. Shoving the door open, she spied Kurama sitting at the table and looking in the direction of the bedroom.

"What are you doing here, Kurama? Did Naruto not take a job or-"

"**What are you doing here?" **Kurama turned his attention to her and stared at her. **"Did you come because you thought you lived here?"**

"I came by to see if he was alright. I know I don't live here. I do have a key though. Speaking of which; why is the door not locked. Usually as soon as he gets home he locks it?"

Kurama turned his attention back to the room where Naruto slept. The doors were closed at the moment. There wasn't any sound coming from it either. Usually Naruto snore or moaned or something. Was he sleeping around with another girl or was he just getting ready to scare her?

"**You should leave. It's for your own good. Naruto's not in a good mood at the moment." **

"Then I have more of a reason to stay and-"

"**You should leave for both our sakes." **Kurama's eyes glowed like fire and she had a fear of him for a moment. It passed and she could only nod dumbly to the strange sensation that passed through her. _**For both are sakes, you can't see him now. He cares too deeply for you to know of his past, Cana. He might wind up killing you if you walked in there right now. **_Kurama turned his focus back on the room and waited. He would wait the storm out and then check on him and link with his mind again.

(-)

Naruto groaned as his eyes snapped into focus. Pain was running through his entire body and he felt like he had just gone through a fighting session with Kurama in his mind again. His body hadn't hurt this bad in a long time. The last time it had even remotely hurt this bad was when he had fallen off the Fairy Tail Headquarters because of Erza yelling at him about something. That had been a great moment. She showed open concern and he got to have his face smashed into her tits, though he could have gone without the smothering part. She nearly suffocated him.

He looked around and sighed.

His room was trashed. He could see where he had either punched a wall or slashed at it with a blade or his claws. It wasn't good. The ceiling had a long burn mark across it. He might have used the red chakra by accident. That was a bad sign to him. What was worse was that his bookcase was destroyed as well, along with his bed. His bed was easily to the replace, his books weren't.

Looking down, he wanted to hit something since his shirt was shredded and covered with blood where he had obviously gotten hit by something during his little moment. His jeans also looked like they had been dragged behind a horse or something going fast for hours. He wasn't pleased.

He focused his chakra and canceled the seals around the room. He heard a pop and a snap and the door fell down. Obviously the seal that had prevented the sound of his own anguish had probably held the door closed for him. Either that it had finally taken to gravity and fallen on its own. In either case, the door needed to be replaced, much like his walls and ceiling. A new paint job would also do wonders for him as well. White was such a bland color. He'd go for orange now.

Stepping over the door and towards the table, he spied his tenant munching one a piece of meat and immediately sighed. "Sorry I didn't get around to feeding. That's my fault."

Kurama grunted and continued to absently chew on his captured food.

Naruto fished around in the fridge for something and eventually pulled out some sandwich stuff. He set it up and sat down at the table. The two ate in silence and once finished, Naruto did the dishes and then collapsed on the couch. Kurama jumped off the table and scampered up to Naruto's chest. Ironic that the blond suddenly started scratching his head once the little fox had curled up and began to drift off on his chest. Naruto just sat there staring at the ceiling in thought.

It had been well over two weeks since he was sent out on a mission for the council and it had been well over two months since he had done anything for the Guild. He wasn't about to start heading out right now when things were screwy with his mind at the moment. This little episode had been the worse by far. Usually he only had to worry about tattered sheets or the occasionally destroyed pillow. He had gone berserk and had obviously used some of Kurama's power. There was no denying the destruction caused by it. The memory that triggered it just had to be _that _one.

The blond continued to scratch Kurama's head and think about what he could do to try and settle this. He didn't know enough about Fuuinjutsu to seal away memories nor did he know enough about the human brain to attempt such a thing. He was left only with suffering. How had anyone in the Elemental Nations managed to stave this off? He hadn't ever heard about it from Kakashi or Jiraiya. Surely they would have warned him or anyone else. Iruka never said anything about it either. Did they get used to it in a way he couldn't fathom? What links did they go to ensure that they never suffered from this?

Thinking about them only began to drag him down until he could see Sasuke standing before him. He smiled weakly to his former friend and then pain lanced through his hand. Kurama had come to life and bit him to snap him out of it.

"_**If you continue down this path of thinking, you'll only end up destroying yourself." **_

The blond sighed and his companion got the message. Mentally linked, they had a great understanding. Kurama knew of his pain better than what anyone else ever would and Naruto knew his. Deep down, Kurama was in pain as well. He missed his brothers and sisters that were like him. Though they had been separated, they were still as one. It had been the Rikudou Sennin's idea that they would still be one even after being separated. Did he also plan for their eventual usage as well? The man was a being of pure destruction and creation. He created them. So did he have a plan in all of this? Did his eyes grant him the power to see the future and see the world that would eventually be brought about?

Naruto sat up straight and held Kurama close.

There was no point in thinking about the past. He couldn't change it. Makarov was right about that. He would never be able to change the past. He could only change how he viewed it and how he'd respond to it in the future.

With that thought in mind, he sat Kurama down and pulled on some new clothes. It was time to pay a visit to an old friend. The small Bijuu watched his host get dressed and then head for the door. "You coming," he asked. Kurama nodded grimly and began running for the blond. Once he was properly situated on his shoulder they walked out the door and began the trip towards the graveyard.

It didn't take them long to reach the graveyard or the tombstone that Naruto wanted to see. It was in a large courtyard where most of the other members of Fairy Tail were. It was a spot dedicated to them for their status in Magnolia.

The grave in question was the one for Lisanna Strauss, sister to Mirajane and Elfman Strauss. Her death had shaken Naruto to the core because of how close they had been. She truly saw him as an older brother and Naruto was happy to have someone here that had seen him in that light. But when she died, he had lost it. Once he learned on how she died he had been forced to leave after he picked a fight with Elfman, whom was still reeling from her death. If Makarov hadn't intervened, Naruto was certain that he would have killed him.

While Makarov had understood Naruto's situation and why he had done it, it still didn't excuse his actions. Elfman didn't want to kick Naruto out and spoke out against his excommunication. Others had done the same because some had even blamed Elfman for it, though that was quickly passed over. With Naruto's case closed, he was able to remain in the Guild and be an active member. However, Naruto had decided to start taking missions after the trial was over as a way of learning to coup with what he was feeling. Her death had reopened with old wounds and it had made the PTSD worse for a time being.

Kurama hopped off his shoulder and stood before the grave in silence. Naruto did the same and the two simply thought back to the fun times with her. She was a great person. It was a shame that she died. Naruto had been away taking care of something at the time and when he found out about her death he had abandoned his job and went straight back to the Guild where he learned the circumstances of her death. Kurama had simply shut down and became miserable to everyone for a long time. Naruto's constant missions had also made him miserable because he was willingly getting hurt.

After a few hours of standing over her grave the two parted and began walking around the town. What few people that were already up and opening up shops greeted him with warm smiles and free food for Kurama.

Arriving at the Guild, he wasn't surprised to see the S-Rank giving client there. Naruto couldn't ever remember his name. It was the type of name that just slipped your mind, despite the fact that his face was unique with a set of scars across it.

"Uzumaki," he greeted with a slight bow. "I don't suppose you know when Guild Master Makarov will be in, do you?"

"Not really. He appears when he wants to." Naruto put his back against the door and sighed. "So you know about the episode I just had?"

The man nodded grimly. "We have our ways." He fetched a small bottle from his coat pocket and handed it over. Naruto took it and stared at it for a moment. "We had to up the dosage. It's nothing extreme. But with your regeneration ability and your immune system makes it hard to always have a suitable pill for you."

"I know. I get it from my Kaa-san. She was lucky to have it."

"I see. Well, I do have a job to put out. Will you be stable enough to take it?"

"If it involved fighting I can take it pretty easily. If it involves anything else…" Naruto let it hang there. The man nodded and smiled as Mirajane arrived with Makarov following up after her. "Makarov, Mirajane," Naruto greeted.

"Naruto," the two greeted in unison. Makarov eyed the man that was with him and nodded. "Looking to put in a job request?"

"Of course, sir. As always, I'd like to request it specifically for Uzumaki Naruto, if he's up for it."

"If the pay is good, I'll take it." The blond thought about all the money he was going to spend on repairing his room. Plus, it would be nice to not have to write for a while and get out of the town for a bit. He did like traveling.

"The pay will be the usual." Retrieving the piece of parchment from within his blue coat he handed it over and Makarov gave it a strange look before nodding. "If at all possible, we'd like you to take the job now if you could. It would be a great help to me."

Mirajane gave it a peek before Makarov stashed it. "Naruto, do you want to take the job?"

"Of course. I've been growing rather… restless I suppose. It would do me some good to get out of town for a bit."

"_**What you actually mean is that you want to put yourself far away from others because of your recent moment." **_Kurama translated mentally. Naruto was going to reprimand him in that moment but the little fox spoke to the others and cut anything short of a mental shout off. **"So what do you need my servant for, flesh bag?"**

Naruto popped him for that and the client chuckled humorlessly. "I would think it would be the other way around, little fox." Naruto's hand clamped down on Kurama's tails before he could maul the client. Didn't this happen to him on a regular basis back in the Elemental Nations? Straightening up, the client nodded mutely before he continued. "The job is a simple one. The only reason it's considered S-Rank is because of the duration you'll be gone; though, given your past history with our jobs and the timeline that is estimated for completion, you just might get back in a week if you're lucky."

"I'll take the damn thing. How long does it say I'll be away?"

Makarov was about to read it again when the client spoke up. "Two years. But, like I said, I believe you'll be back in a week. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I'm needed elsewhere. Thank you for taking the job, Uzumaki. I look forward to your performance."

The three watched them go while Kurama hung from Naruto's hand as he flailed around screaming insult after insult at the man.

Mirajane gave the blond one quick look before sighing. "So you'll be leaving again? I'm going to miss you while you're gone."

"**Three hundred jewels and you can have your way with him for the next hour."**

"Stop pimping me out, stupid." Naruto shoved Kurama into Mirajane's arms and smiled at her. "I'll come by before I leave. I gotta go find Cana and pray she's not going to be in a foul mood for waking her up and seeing her before I leave."

Naruto waved goodbye and stuffed his hands in pockets as he walked off. Kurama glanced up at Mirajane and noticed her innocent smile. She turned and walked into the guild to get breakfast and chairs set up for business.

(-)

The door to Cana's home wasn't anything that Naruto understood. Gildarts had made sure it was replaced almost only a daily basis when he was in town. Of course he'd get a bad tongue lashing for destroying her stuff. Naruto got a tongue lashing as well, but that was for picking the locks or just randomly being able to just appear at random inside her home.

Naruto easily popped into her home and shook his head. She couldn't keep her place clean to save her life. Barrels and bottles of various alcohol were strewn everywhere with clothing to match. She couldn't keep her house clean to save her life. It was just another of the many reasons for why he loved her.

Though they had only been dating for a year, things had progressed rather slowly with Naruto always being away. After Cana had approached him about fighting ghosts and pushing others away last year, Naruto had tried to get away from doing that. She had helped, but he was still forced to actually be away by the council. What time they could spend together was a new set of territories for both of them. Things started off real slow, but eventually they got to the point where they gave each other a key to their own places. Naruto obviously didn't need one, which irked her to no end.

The first few dates that they did share together were very romantic with Naruto not being a pervert. Cana didn't even hold back on the drinking because she saw this as a fine opportunity to get drunk off someone else's money. Naruto had no problem with it. Even he was all for getting wasted. The two shared drinking games and to see who could get drunker the fastest or pass out. Neither knew he won those games but shortly after the fifth date Cana had invited Naruto over and the two had finally moved past the regular dating and into sex.

Sex with Cana was strange in its own unique way. She was inexperienced and the Jinchuuriki helped her as best he could. To date they'd only done it eight times. With Cana things were different. Naruto wasn't eager to start a family and neither was Cana. She didn't want to start a family with him until she was an S-Rank mage like Naruto and like her father. When she told him this, he shrugged and was all for it. When Cana set her mind to something like this she didn't let anything really stop her.

Naruto pushed through her flood of dirty clothes and drinks until he got to her bedroom door. He found her sprawled out on the bed wearing nothing with the thin sheets not doing anything to cover her grace.

Stepping around to her back, he smiled and leaned in close to her ear. "You awake?" he whispered.

Cana turned over in fear and lashed out with her hand. Naruto caught her wrist and smiled down at her. She screamed cutely as she realized that Naruto was in her home and that she was naked. With strength only a woman could have when scared or angry, she broke out of Naruto's hold and threw him aside. Naruto flipped and landed on his feet in a crouch as she hastily tried to cover up with the thin sheet. Naruto just smiled at her.

"Morning, Cana. Did you sleep well?"

The brunette pursed her lips together and started thinking of a way to hurt him. She didn't see the little fox anywhere so that meant that Naruto was here without him.

Falling down into her bed, she huffed and pulled the sheets over her body fully while saying, "It was great right up until you woke me up. Why are you here?"

"Why are you covering up? We've had sex in the past. It's not like you have anything I haven't seen." The Jinchuuriki smirked and slowly began to remove his shirt. "And there's nothing that you haven't seen from me."

His shirt fell to the floor and Cana smirked at the sight before her. Only a few girls in the guild saw him without his shirt on. She had him all to herself.

"I'll be taking a job today. I'll be gone for a few weeks, maybe even a month or two if I'm unlucky. I just figured that I should come by and see you before I head out."

The daughter of Gildarts' smiled and threw the sheets off and crawled over to where the blond was. "Then I suppose I should enjoy myself before you leave. If you're gone for a long time, I might get lonely and go for someone else."

Naruto smiled down on her and climbed in bed with her, kissing her neck and playing with her breasts.

"Take me to heaven or lose me forever." She whispered into his ear.

(-)

Kurama's ears twitched and then a snarl sounded from him. Mirajane gave him a puzzled look but let it pass as him just being annoyed with the return of Natsu and Happy. Of course, he could have also been annoyed that Macao was back. They didn't get along too well considering that he had once tried to make him stay and play with his son for a personal favor. Kurama had none of it and the two were at arms almost constantly.

Now that Natsu was back, along with Lugi or whatever her name was, things were just as lively as ever. There had already been two big fights and there was a third in the works with Gray and Natsu both arguing about something. Elfman looked like he was about to get in on it.

A bottle flew through the air and smacked against Kurama's muzzle, getting a quick yelp of pain from him. Several guys broke down laughing at his pain and were quickly shutting up when the little fox began radiating an aura of death at them. Mirajane smiled through it all as Kurama hopped off the bar and began biting and clawing at the poor guys that decided to laugh at his pain. In short order, the shoe was on the other foot and they were screaming in pain as he bit down hard on their ears, hands, or even their ankles.

Gray and Elfman watched with smiles as they bumped fists. It wasn't everyday that they got to see Natsu get attacked by Kurama.

"Get this little guy off me!" Natsu ran around screaming and flailing his arms around as Kurama held on for dear life with his claws firmly planted in the Dragon Slayer's flesh. No amount of flailing, fire, or even smashing him up against something could get him off, and when Natsu finally collapsed did Kurama let go, but not before clamping down just a bit harder to make him scream like a girl. "Hey, Kurama, where's Naruto? You two are always together. So where is he?"

Hopping off his former prisoners' back, the small Bijuu sat down on his haunches and looked up at him. **"Naruto is with Cana right now getting all lovey-dovey with her. He's about to take another job; so he's going to be gone for a while. He just wants one last romp before he heads out. No doubt she's the same." **

A few cat calls sounded, but were quickly silenced when Kurama gave off the aura of pain and misery. It was strange to see a little fox ruling over all the big and powerful mages like Elfman and Gray with just an aura alone. Lucy even thought that it was strange that the little fox could even do it. He seemed so cute and innocent. He wasn't even like Happy. He was just… weird.

Natsu was soon back on his feet and starring down at the small nine-tailed fox with a look of concern. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

Kurama shrugged and slowly walked over to where Lucy was. The blond stared at him and watched him like a hawk. It was until he coughed that she figured out what he was doing. Reaching down, she picked him up and set him on the table, smiling at the idea of him blushing. Obviously jumping up onto something wasn't his style. He'd rather be pampered.

"**So how do you like working with the flaming retard and his flying rat?" **

"I'm not a flying rat!" Happy protested.

"**Last time I checked, cats don't fly. They only scurry around on the ground, chasing after their tail and being mischief makers." **Happy snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. Lucy looked between the two and started laughing. **"You laugh at me and I'll be sure to tear your clothes off or bite your breasts, wench." **A slap to the face and Kurama growled before lunging at the now horrified girl. The guys present rushed over to see anything naughty as Kurama began trying to get her out of her shirt for the slap.

Makarov took a drink from his mug as Lucy was finally able to get the small fox off her and begin reprimanding him for his actions with a mug across the face. While he normally would have been all giddy to see a girl without any clothes on, right now he was more interested in the mission Naruto was taking. Sure Naruto had been gone for long periods of time, just like how Gildarts was right now, but Naruto was different. He was suffering from a very serious illness and it had to be monitored. There was no denying that the council was helping him treat it, but there was no telling on how long it would be before treatment wasn't an option for him.

As things finally calmed down and everyone got around to doing their usual thing, Kurama propped himself down by the old man and looked out ahead. He had a piece of Lucy's bra in his paw and was obviously not releasing it. It was amazing he didn't get the whole thing for how big it was.

"Good show. Good show." Makarov patted the fox on the head much like he would a dog and smiled down at him. Kurama showed no signs of interest as he soon tossed it away and put his muzzle on his paws. "So do you think Naruto going on this job will be easy or hard?"

"**Do I look like someone who cares either way? I'll be going and having fun all on my own. Healing him isn't a problem either since I do it naturally. I'm sure I could stay here and it would still happen."**

"Why don't you stay here for a while? You're always running off with him. It would do you both some good to at least separate every now and then."

Kurama rolled his eyes. Inwardly, though, he was thinking about it. He'd spent nearly forty years with that blond haired idiot and while the idiot had grown on him, the two knew that they did need time apart so they didn't try to kill one another in their sleep. But how to go about and do that? They shared knowledge through their memories. When the linked up mentally, they knew everything the other knew. So it wasn't possible for them to not spend time together. It would have been like asking two conjoined twins to not see each other for a week. It just couldn't happen.

Mirajane laughed and began scratching the fox behind his ears. "I think it would be great to have you around while he's gone. I could take care of you while he's gone."

"**Will I get to sleep with you?" **

Mirajane just smiled and continued to scratch him behind his ears.

Implications to what he meant aside, Kurama did like the idea. It wasn't a bad one either. Naruto could go spend time doing whatever it was they wanted him for and he could stay behind, get pampered, and reclaim his spot as the cutest little guy in Fairy Tail. He was way cuter than that stupid cat Happy. What did he have that Kurama didn't? He could fly, but could he actually pick a fight with someone or something bigger than him and actually win? Kurama doubted that. That little cat couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag with holes in it.

As another fight started, Makarov could only sigh and wait for the storm to pass. After ten minutes of random fighting it was over with Natsu and Gray both glaring at each other ready for another fight. Luckily, the next fight was delayed with the arrival of Cana and Naruto, both looking a little lost and woozy, but freshened up and acting like nothing had just happened between them. Cat calls ensued and the two just shrugged it off.

Making their way to the bar, Mirajane quickly got their drinks and had them ready when they arrived. The barmaid smiled as Cana began to gulp her drink down with all haste. Naruto calmly sipped his as though he was just enjoying their company. When Natsu made a declaration to fight Naruto, the blond turned and raised one finger to challenge him.

"I'll beat you with one finger, Natsu. If you can make me use two fingers," he smiled, "I'll fight you outside right now. Now give me your best shot."

The excitable mage took that to heart and punched with all his might at Naruto's single finger. It didn't budge. Natsu took a step back and waited for Naruto's attack. The guild went silent as they too waited for the unexpected. Naruto smiled and put his one finger on Natsu's head. With the motion of a gentle shove, Natsu was all grins until an unexpected force pushed on him and sent the fiery mage flying right out the doors and into the streets.

Kurama shook his head and began drinking from his hosts' drink as he waited for him to return.

"That was a bit much, don't you think?" Makarov asked.

Naruto shrugged and sat back down. "Natsu needs to learn to watch the entire body during a fight, not just what's coming at him. If he had noticed my eyes had changed for my attack style, he would have known I was cheating. Besides, I don't fight fair. Rules are for losers and whiners."

"**Yeah! I heard that!"**

"That reminds me." Naruto reached over, grabbed his tenant, and promptly flung him out into the streets where Natsu was just getting up. Natsu was immediately back on the ground after catching Kurama in the gut. "Don't ever drink from my cup again."

Back turned, he missed the middle finger from his prisoner/friend.

Knocking back his drink and then another, Naruto sat and drank with his girlfriend and master while Mirajane drank water when she wasn't being called out for refills or to take orders. After twenty minutes with the fox, he finally reappeared looking worse for ware and very annoyed.

"**I'm staying this time around," **he declared heatedly. **"Have fun without me. I'll be sure to get all the hot action while you're gone."**

Naruto nodded and pulled out a thousand jewels. "Mirajane," he called out for the barmaid. She sauntered up to him, not once noticing the look that Cana was shooting her. "You wanna watch Kurama for me while I'm gone? I'll give you money for his dog food while I'm gone. Or cat food. Whichever of the two you prefer to feed him."

She snatched it up, smiling as she slid it in between her breasts. No man was stupid enough to reach in there. Well, maybe one or two that were really daring would try. "Sure, I'll look after him. Dog food is cheaper, so I'll feed him that."

"Thanks." Naruto finished his glass, kissed Cana on the cheek, and then patted his tenant on the head. "You behave while I'm gone. Don't pee on Mirajane's carpet or anything. Don't pick a fight with Happy. Don't do anything stupid or crazy that you wouldn't normally do. I'll be back in a couple of weeks, maybe a month at most. So you behave." Cana chuckled as Kurama looked horrified. "Natsu," Naruto shouted at the Dragon Slayer and slowly began making his way through the crowd of mages that were wishing him the best of luck.

Kurama, grief stricken at the idea of eating pet food, began looking around for reassurance that he wouldn't be eating pet food. Mirajane smiled at him and began scratching him behind his ear. **"You're not gonna feed me dog food are you?" **

"Well… you do need more vegetables. So I guess I'll just have to feed you rabbit feed. You want me to go make you a salad?"

Kurama flew off the table and ran for his host while screaming that he'd go with him. No way was he eating dog food or cat food or a salad or whatever else they could find for him that wasn't meat. He wanted meat and only meat. He'd be damned before he ate that.

Naruto stopped, picked him up and assured him that if he went he'd get normal food. Kurama began pleading to go and Naruto was forced to take him as a few of the girls began feeling sorry for the poor guy. Levi looked ready to hit Naruto if he didn't take the poor guy too.

"Alright, you can come with me." The nine-tailed fox pounced around happily and soon was on his ever so famous perch of Naruto's shoulder. Naruto took two steps for the door when he suddenly remembered something. He walked right up to Mirajane, smiled, and then reached into her top to grab his money. Cat calls returned and Mirajane looked flustered. "Thanks," the blond said while putting it away. Cana stormed up to him, ready to obviously knock his lights out. "I'll see you in a few weeks, Cana!"

"I'll remember this!" She shouted.

"I sure hope you do." Naruto bowed and vanished in a puff of smoke.

All eyes turned on Cana as she shook her head, ready to fight something or someone now. Once she noticed the eyes of her fellow mages on her, she glared at them picked a card out of her holster. "The first person to make a crack about this will get it." She threatened.

Gray mouthed off and a new fight started with Cana gunning for victory. Mirajane and Makarov just smiled through it all, both sitting back and watching as the fight ensued and eventually dragged in everyone with the exception of the Guild Master and the barmaid. It was a sight to always behold and another glorious day for all of them. Knocking drinks, the two downed their own beverages and waited for the fight to die down so Mirajane could start cleaning up.


	5. Their Warmth and Laughter

I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

From the minds of the HumanWiki and Myevltwin.

Anything you read in this fic should not be recreated or taken serious. If you find this stuff offensive, do not read this fic. You have been warned.

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 5

"**Rutting."**

"Give it a rest, Kurama."

"**Rutting! Seriously? What happened to the other way of saying it? I don't remember a time like this."**

"Why are you getting all whacked out of place over this? It's just a saying?"

"**Whatever happened to the others? You know like "Beating my meat," or how about "Petting the Kitty," and all those others weird ones like "Chocking the chicken," because this shit just doesn't make sense. Rutting? How is that even a sex term?"**

"Seriously, Kurama, drop it."

"**Petting the kitty," **Kurama said while looking over at his host. Naruto glanced at his shoulder and sighed before looking straight down. How had those idiots seriously not heard them yammering on about this?

Two months of extensive searching and his targets had finally been found. The Council was good at a few things, he'd give them that, but when it came to searching for someone or even a group, they came up very short. They simply pointed at a map and said, "This is where we think they are," before shipping him out to go look for them. Most of the time they weren't in the area provided. Sure they were moving around a lot and originally they had been good at finding them, but lately they just flat out sucked. It was like they wanted to see how good he really was. Did they really need to continue testing this? He was better than any hunter or tracker this world had to offer. He might as well just be the best of the best that couldn't be touched with how good he was.

His targets weren't what he was expecting. The mission details were sketchy, labeling more on the idea of eliminating them completely than capture. Whatever their reason for wanting them dead was, Naruto knew that if he detained and captured them he'd get a bonus because they liked it better that way. Made them seem more like heroes for justice.

Kurama looked down at the ten humans that were scurrying about trying to find or do something. Whatever they were doing they were very noisy. It was a wonder as to why it took Naruto this long to find such a noisy bunch. Unless they were tipped off to him coming and being noisy just to get his attention. If that was the case, Naruto had goofed somewhere along the line in finding these people.

"_Can you find the base from the trees or should I make some clones to scout it out?" _Naruto asked through the mental link. It was show time, which meant it was time to get serious.

Kurama's goofy antics stopped and his expression turned serious. _**"Do you think I'm incompetent like that idiot cat, Happy? Give me some credit. When I don't want to be found I won't-"**_

"_So you can do it?" _Naruto asked, cutting him off.

Kurama growled at being cut off and nodded before heading off.

Now somewhat alone, Naruto flexed his hands. Killing them all didn't seem like a good idea. He didn't know which one was the leader. If he wanted one of them alive it'd be the leader. _I could always just ask, _he thought. Dropping down behind the group, Naruto tapped the shoulder of the closest one and said, "So which one of you is the leader?"

"What?"

"Not you." Naruto stabbed the person with his hand through the poor souls' chest. A look of shock crossed his face before collapsing to the ground dead. When the body hit the ground, those that hadn't heard him turned and faced him. "Which of you is the leader?"

"And you would be…?"

"Someone looking for the leader of this group? So are you are the leader?"

"What if I'm not?"

The Jinchuuriki sighed and slew the man where he stood. There was no point in deluding himself into believing that these guys had a leader among them right now. With that thought, he slew each of them and then moved to where Kurama had found the base.

Of course said fox was having his own issues at the moment.

Upon infiltration he had been spotted and things hit the fan instantly. Looking up at the mages/warriors that had spotted and cornered him, Kurama could only gawk at them as they turned from full badass looking people to chattering monkeys that talked about him like he was a pet. He could pull that off. Naruto could deal with worse and still get out without a single finger lifted. So could he. All he had to do was look cute. Cute was easy. Cute was simple and he could totally pull it off.

"**Woof!" **He paused and watched their reactions. **"Wait? That's not what a fox does. Meow? No… that's a cat. Fucking cats. Hey what do foxes do? I can't remember!" **The group of humans had long since stopped talking about how cute he was and what they were going to do with him and switched to getting spells and weapons ready. Kurama picked up on this and knew he was in trouble. Like any animal that was cornered Kurama did what any of them would. **"Yeah, that's my fault."**

The small Kyuubi lunged at the closest human and latched onto his face, clawing and biting as the man went down screaming. He rolled with the small fox latched to his face while one of his fellow men started screaming, "Establish dominance," in an attempt to help him.

Of course they couldn't just reach out and peal the small fox off because their fellow was rolling around screaming at the top of his lungs. Anyone with something latched to their face usually ran/rolled around in an attempt to get their tormentor off. Of course with a highly intelligent fox that was both powerful and smart wouldn't be removed under normal methods or caught if and when he was yanked off. Plus this served as an amusing distraction for Naruto as he dropped down to deal with the other people present leaving Kurama's captured victim alive.

"Alright," Naruto said sharply as he pealed his tenant off the man, "I'm going to ask you a question. If I don't get an answer I like, we've got a problem. And if I've got a problem that means you've got a problem. Is that clear?" He spat at Naruto. Naruto dropped Kurama back on his face and watched the man thrash about screaming like he was being torn apart. He might as well for the amount of damage the small Bijuu was doing. After two minutes of torture Naruto pealed Kurama off, eyeing the clump of hair that the small fox had in his mouth like it was something strange. "Where's your leader? If you don't tell me, you get to have your balls attacked this time around."

"Alright! I'll tell you anything you want! Just don't touch my balls!"

"Good boy. First question: Where is your leader?"

"I'm the leader!"

"Okay." Naruto dropped Kurama and the small fox went right at the man's crotch and got a mouth full of said area. The man screamed and started butt-scooting away while trying to swat said fox away to no avail. Naruto let him be tortured for three minutes before ending his suffering by smashing his fist into the back of his head, thus rendering him unconscious. Naruto pried his tenant off the man and eyed him strangely with the brown piece of fabric in his mouth. "I don't remember your jaws being that strong."

"**You never got bit by me, remember? And you never had to pry me off anything either. I'm keeping this by the way." **He dangled the captured article of clothing in one hand with a large grin. Naruto just shook his head with a sneer. Of course he'd have continued collecting things like that. **"So now what?"**

"Now we take this idiot to the council and let them deal with him. Our job is done."

"**Can I blow the place up?"**

"No." The blond tied the man up and threw him over his shoulder. Kurama took up residence on the opposite shoulder and prepared to be whisked away by the powerful art of Naruto's Ninjutsu.

(-)

The entire situation had spiraled out of control. This wasn't how things were done. There were rules, laws, and ways to do things. This wasn't one of the ways things were done.

"Master," Erza whispered as the small man approached through the crowd. How could this have happened? Why was this happening?

The small man looked up at the tree and then held his face. Beaten, broken, and stuck to the tree via metal clamps were Jet, Droy, and Levy, the three members of Team Shadow Gear. On their exposed flesh was a black mark that was built in three points, two of which were conjoined. The first was an upward facing C with two points on the corner of it and a dot in the center of it. From the bottom of the C was a curling line that helped form the guild symbol for Phantom Lord.

Makarov's entire body shook violently as he fought to hold in his rage. "Wrecking our shoddy bar I could bear with…" His rage consumed him and he shattered his staff. "But no parent can remain silent after seeing their children's blood…** This means war." **

Their friends were taken down and whisked away to the nearest hospital. Makarov had some plans to draw up. A battle strategy would do them wonders. Rushing in halfcocked was a sure fire way to get someone killed or wounded.

Erza stayed by his side, whether to be his confident or not no one knew, but she, too, was feeling her blood boil over this. Natsu had to be forcefully knocked unconscious to keep him from barreling off after Phantom Lord to wage a one man war. The only ones that could safely do even that were gone at the moment. She knew what Makarov was planning and was going to stay right by his side through this.

"We need to get everyone back to the guild for a meeting," the master informed her. "I have a few things to go over with you all before we launch into this. I'm not rushing in halfcocked." That sounded like a lie and he knew it.

"Of course," she replied. She would do it for him.

(-)

The guard working took one sniff of the man/carcass that was the rebel leader. Naruto gave the man a sly smile as he patted the poor guard on the shoulder. The rebel was alive, but looked more like a carcass all thanks to Kurama. When the man woke up he made a snide comment to the small fox that earned him another sound thrashing via sharp teeth and claws. So he was alive, but he didn't look it. Plus, to add insult to injury or throw salt in a wound Kurama had peed on him. So the man stank to high heaven.

Leaving the guard with the captured target, Naruto walked towards the debriefing room where the top two Magic Council members were located. They were the only ones that knew Naruto's identity and thus spoke to him directly without the need for masks.

Kurama was perched on his shoulder taking the stance of someone very defiant and imposing while Naruto looked more ready for combat than a debriefing what with his mask on to hide his face.

He stepped through the large hidden doors and into the dark room. A spotlight snapped down on him like he was on a stand fixing to perform for a crowd. Two more lights snapped down on two people; one being very old looking while the other was very young looking. Naruto knew the old man very well, no way he wouldn't. His name was Guran Doma. He was a tall and fit elderly man with long graying hair and a long beard to match his hair. He wore fitted armor, and an ornate cape draped over his shoulders with a stereotypical hate of a wizard. He didn't seem to have his staff with him though.

The other was Siegrain, probably the youngest member on the Magic Council. His hair was blue and had a strange reddish marking/tattoo under and above his right eye. Naruto didn't know where he got it as he never pried. He wore elegant yet simple robes, consisting of a long white tunic with black stripes across the edges and on the upper part of his arms, a decorated collar, large straps connected to decorated buckles closing the inducement on the front over a dark shirt, and matching pants and shoes. Naruto couldn't see if he had his ring or medallion that attested to his status as one of the Ten Wizard Saints from where he was.

Naruto stood at attention as a dozen shadowy figures sat around the two men. Naruto could see what Kurama saw when the linked and knew that it was half and half in the sex area and most of them were old. Only two were actually young.

"At ease," Siegrain ordered, noticing how Naruto stood tall and straight in their presence. They knew things about him that he couldn't let the rest of the world know. Respect was given, even if what they knew may be false. False information was still information and information was just as deadly here as it was in the Elemental Nations.

"We would like to congratulate you on your successful mission, Maelstrom." One of the females spoke up. Code names were used for various reasons. Naruto knew the first two because Siegrain had approached him and showed him to Guran. The others didn't know his name, only his code name. Strange that he chose the meaning of his name for a code name. "You've certainly given us plenty to consider given your recent mission profile. We would like to pin down a few details of your mission."

There was something in her voice that made Naruto nervous. Not scared. But it was a feeling he had going into battle back in the Elemental Nations when he was fighting the Akatsuki and jutsus started flying. It was kind of scary knowing that a strange woman he'd never met could actually frighten him.

"You do know, Maelstrom," Guran said, "that not answering truthfully-or omitting any relevant detail will result in your execution?"

Naruto bristled. As if he could ever forget that. Not that they had the power to kill him, but they could sure as hell try while he rained down hell fire and brimstone on their asses. Someone had once stated that if you got on Naruto's bad side when he was a kid in Konoha he'd rain down hell fire and brimstone on your ass until you either learned your lesson for doing something to him or where someone he truly hated. Usually it was the first option.

"I will answer to the best of my abilities." What was this? An interrogation or something? Ibiki did a better job than these jokers could ever hope to do. God forbid he ever came here. He'd love to see that man scare one of these people shitless with his method of getting information.

"We understand that it took you months to find and capture your target. Is this correct?"

"Yes. The information you had for me was off. They were no longer in the town designated by your information network." _Nor mine. _"They weren't heavily armed either. That information was off." _Not for me, though. _"What weapons they had they used them with little skill. They were more like thugs."

"Do you have any way of knowing whether or not or information network has been compromised?" A rough sounding male voice asked. "I for one would like _actual _hands-on information from someone that has worked with our people in person."

"I believe that your network is safe. I'm not a good judge of character." Naruto paused. That wasn't an entire lie. He knew where the corruption was but it was something that if he warned them about those that were corrupted would know in a heartbeat. If only he knew how far up the ladder it went.

"The man you brought back is confirmed to be the leader. However, we are curious as to why you brought him back rather than kill him like the rest of his hooligans."

"I'm not a hero, sir. I do my job the way I do it and I will kill when I feel the need to. That man was already beaten and broken. No point in killing a man that had given up. Besides, you have a public image to hold up, do you not? You guys having him without question will bring much relief to the people and you will be seen as saviors. I am but a shadow and a tool for your usage."

Guran smiled. "You spared his life for our image alone? Why would you do that?"

"I had very specific orders brought to me by one of your men with _your _signature, Guran."

"And what of the others?" Another voice spoke up. "Did they have to die as well? Why not bring them in? Surely a man of your stature could have detained all of them and brought them before us for their own trial and execution for _our _image."

"My orders were very specific. I was to kill all but the leader."

The first man whispered, "God… what do you expect from a PTSD mage?"

"Enough," Guran snapped loudly. "This man has done us a great many things and has earned some courtesy, even from you. Your group couldn't even find him and he did. That only goes to show you that he's more of a reliable person than you are!"

The blue haired Magic Council member leaned forward, flashing a smile, "Maelstrom, thank you. We're finished here. I think. Unless you can give us some information on why Fairy Tail was attacked by Phantom Lord."

"What?"

A murmur ran through the darkness along with shuffled paper.

"What do you mean by that? Is Fairy Tail okay? Why haven't you stepped in?"

Siegrain raised a hand, ushering in silence from the blond. "We are waiting right now for more information. It would seem that Phantom Lord's guild has recently gone missing and Fairy Tails' guild is in shambles. What information we have right now marks that Makarov may be dead. However, going over mission reco-"

A boom echoed through the darkness as Naruto stomped the ground, leaving a large dent in the floor. "When did you expect to tell me this?" Naruto paused and then turned to leave. "I will bring you the head of each member of Phantom Lord free of charge. They are a Dark Guild, no?" He didn't wait for a response. Guild wars were illegal. Charges would be filed. And while these people sat on the hands more people would die while they waited for the paperwork to go through less the fighting end before they had things situated.

"**I knew I should have stayed with them."**

Naruto didn't rise to the jab. It wasn't like Kurama could make a difference. He could if he was bigger, but that would mean he'd have more chakra, be more dangerous, and be more risky. Naruto trusted him with his life, but he didn't trust him with someone else's life. Kurama was a deathless creature. Sure he'd go away for a couple of years, but he'd return at full power. This world had enough problems. They didn't really even have room for him, let alone a thirty story animal that could flatten mountains with a single swing of its tail.

Naruto really wanted to kick himself for his own negligence. He could and should have gone against Makarov's orders about his Hiraishin no Jutsu being planted on the guild anyways. The Guild Master had been very determined to not have him do that; not because he thought it would clash with the image of the guild but because he knew that Naruto would leave a job to come bail them out if they were in danger or just to get home early. Makarov had no problem with Naruto planting the seal on just about anything else so long as it wasn't on someone in the guild or on the guild. He could put on his home for all he cared, just not on the guild.

Naruto could do nothing but run as fast as his legs would take him until he was home.

(-)

"Master is seriously wounded. We cannot find Mystogan or Naruto. You're our only hope…" Mirajane knew that asking Laxus for anything was like trying to squeeze water from dried sand. You couldn't do it. But they needed help. Erza couldn't handle this on her own and Mirajane knew she didn't have much of a fighting spirit anymore. She locked that side of herself away. Laxus was the only one they could find at the moment.

"_Huh?"_

"Please come back… It's an emergency!"

"_Serves that shitty geezer right!"_ Laxus started laughing. _"It doesn't concern me. Go ahead and take care of it yourself."_

Cana stood up and howled at the orb that displayed his face. "Laxus! You!" She couldn't even form words she was so upset. Why was it they could only find this guy? Where were Mystogan and Naruto? They should have been back already.

"_Isn't that how it is? That geezer started this fight. Why do we have to clean up his mess?"_

"Lucy, our comrade, is being targeted." Mirajane explained. Like that would actually help. Rational thinking was out the door with him. Any chance he saw to gain power he took it. He'd take this lying down until Makarov crooked. Then he'd swoop in, deal with the situation, and take over as Guild Master.

"_Huh? Who's that?" _His image sizzled for a moment then he smiled. _"That's the big-boobed newbie, huh? Tell her if she becomes my woman, I'll help out. And tell that geezer to hurry up and retire so he can give me the Master's position."_

"How dare you…"

"_Hey, hey… is that how you talk to someone when asking a favor? Why don't you just strip for me? I'm pretty weak for sexy-"_

The orb shattered into a dozen pieces, thus ending the call. Mirajane had broken it. Her anger had flared and got the better of her. Twice over now she felt powerless. She wouldn't let that happen again.

Crying, she turned and was stopped by Cana. "I cannot believe it… is such a person really a member of Fairy Tail…?" Cana had no words for her. "Fine, next time I'll fight too!"

"What are you talking about?" The heavy drinker spun her around so she could look her in the eye. Years ago she wouldn't have done that. Mirajane was a totally different person. If she could return to that person they'd have a chance at stopping them.

"I was here, but Lucy got kidnapped and…"

"No. You'll be a burden to the others in your current situation. Even though you are a former S-Class mage" Yes, they needed the old Mirajane now more than ever. Erza alone just couldn't handle this, not with so many injured and their strongest members gone. _Naruto, papa, where are you?_

The entire building shook. The two females shared a quick look before horror was etched onto their faces. There was only one thing that could be approaching them after what they just went through.

(-)

Ezra needed a shower to both wash herself off and to clear her mind. The fighting took a toll on everyone. The entire guild was in a state of panic as they made plans for their next assault and a counter-attack should Phantom Lord try anything. They most certainly would try something. They had to. They struck back for the damage that they had done to Fairy Tail. Now it was time for them to strike back as well and try and finish them off.

Ezra, however, unlike the rest of the guild truly felt the weight of it all. She hadn't been there to help Makarov fight. She should have never left his side. That her mistake. She knew he was powerful, but he was also old. He should have retired years ago but he wanted to stay in and do the job because he felt like he needed to. He wasn't going to leave this guild in the hands of Laxus. That much was for damn sure. That boy didn't have a good head on his shoulders right now.

_Master's absence… as, well as Laxus, Mystogan's, Naruto's, and Gildarts' are all felt right now. We have many injured… It's impossible to continue this fight any further._

She punched the wall, cracking it with the force behind it. She should have known that even with a game plan Makarov was still very much hotheaded. He didn't think everything through.

_If only I went with him… Pathetic! It's my fault!_

An echoing boom sound and the guild shook. The guild members began screaming about something and that was all the reason she needed to throw on a towel and run outside like everyone else was. What they saw was a thing of pure horror. They weren't ready and Phantom Lord had already made their move.

It was a building at least seven stories tall with six spider legs pushing it up to about fifteen stories tall walking straight at them. The building itself appeared more like a castle than a piece of modern architecture.

Erza, clad only in a towel began to sweat at the idea of an attack. They weren't ready. They weren't rested, healed, or fed. They didn't even have a defensive plan set. "I never imagined they'd attack us like this…" She admitted.

A single dot shined brightly from the building. A high level of concentrated magic could be felt. Ezra was the only one to instantly pick up on it. "Everybody, get down!" She ordered while waving them away. She ditched the towel, naked as the day she was born, and ran up front with the others calling out for her. "Requip!" A torrent of colors concealed her form until the light passed and she was dawned in a full metal suit of armor. "I won't let you take down our guild!"

"Herculean armor!"

"Don't tell me she's gonna try to stop the attack!"

"Even though the armor is famous for its high defensive power…"

"No! Ezra, you're going to die!"

All other voices were cleared from her mind as the shot was fired. The deafening roar of the blast blew away all other sounds, leaving only its loud roar for them to hear. Not even Natsu could be heard over the over the sound of the blast. The blast of concentrated magic plowed into her and pushed her back. She pushed back, but the blast was too much and threw her back, breaking her armor and sending her smoldering body skipping along the ground. But the attack didn't hit the guild.

A moment of shock consumed them all until reality sunk in and the notion that they were still alive. They all rushed Erza to make sure she was okay.

"_After Makarov… now Erza is unable to fight, too." _A snide voice sounded. That had to be Jose, leader of Phantom Lord. _"You don't stand a chance. Hand over Lucy Heartphilia right now." _Jose didn't have to hear them to know what they were saying, but he pretended that he could and waited before shouting at them again. _"Hand her over!"_

"I…"

"We'd rather die than give up on our comrade!" Erza shouted with all her might. She was bleeding, cut up, bruised, and yet still yelled louder than anyone else.

"Our answer won't change no matter what! We'll take you down!" Natsu added, fire shooting from his mouth.

Lucy began to cry.

"_I see…" _Jose's voice was calm, cool, collected. _"Then we'll fire an even bigger and stronger Jupiter! Now struggle in this fifteen minute terror until it's reloaded!" _Jose began chanting for a spell while the ants below him began trying to come up with a way to stop him. He finished and hundreds of black creatures dropped into the water to rush them. Some swam, others walked on water. _"Feel the pain, Fairy Tail. You have two choices. Get killed by my soldiers or die by Jupiter." _With an audible hiss the connection was cut. He was through talking to them.

"Impossible… is he going to kill his men with Jupiter as well?"

"He's just threatening us… he won't fire it.."

"Yes he will." Cana stood at the front of the pack. Some of them had to be leaders now. Keep their heads in the game and make sure they all went home. This was as close to a war as any of them would ever probably see. "That's Jose's magic, "Shiedo"… they're not human. They're just ghost soldiers that Jose created. We've gotta do something about Jupiter."

"I'll go smash it down!" Natsu stated as he punched a fist into his palm. "Fifteen minutes, right? I'll do it!" He called for Happy and the two flew off to go blow the massive weapon to hell or die trying.

Gray and Elfman ran past them, both diving into the water. "We're going too!" Gray stated without room for debate.

"Loki and I will strengthen our defenses here!" Cana turned to her fellow comrade and smiled. At least a few others had a good head on their shoulders.

She looked right out at the army that was approaching them. These things knew neither pain nor loss. They wouldn't feel anything when you tore their heads off or when they watched a comrade die. They'd only keep fighting as their master demanded it.

The first wave made it to the shore with several losses from Bisca and Alzack's salvo of gun fire. What few mages could use projectile attacks helped but the numbers were too strong and they were overwhelmed instantly, thus bringing the fight to them for hand-to-hand combat. They may have been high in number but they were still weak. Cannon fodder, death by numbers, a distraction, which was what these things were. They were easy to take done but hard to get rid of altogether.

Fairy Tail members fought in pairs, teaming up with their teams to take them down. What members that didn't have teams teamed up to watch each other's backs. Cana was with Max, both to make sure he kept his head on straight and because he could watch her back just as easily as she could watch his. Bisca and Alzack were shooting back to back.

One got too close to Max and Cana threw a card to destroy it. "Sorry, Cana!"

"Pull yourself together, Max. Protect the guild at any cost!"

An explosion from within the building shock it and everyone smiled. They knew what it meant. The Jupiter Cannon was now destroyed. Natsu did it. Seeing its destruction meant they still had a chance. They could die fighting these things. Fighting that cannon was out of the question.

"Now we have nothing left to fear! Annihilate the enemy!" Cana ordered. The mages surged past her only to stop when the Phantom Lord guild suddenly confused and then began transforming before their eyes. It was like watching someone playing with a Rubik's Cube as it twisted, turned, and then formed a giant humanoid shaped building that stood two times as tall as it did from before. Cana simply stared; horrified that it could do that. "What on earth is that? You've gotta be kidding me!"

"A giant…" Loki whispered in awe.

The giant thing took one step towards them, stopping only to start drawing in the air with one hand. It would take ten minutes for it to finish. Natsu, Elfman, and Gray were their only hope at the moment. They didn't have anyone else inside. And they had to stop Jose. Erza might have been able to do it, but she was down for the count.

"Look out!"

Cana and Max turned to see a dozen of the Shiedos coming down on them. They had them dead to rights when they suddenly exploded at random. The entire air felt heavy after that and a great wind shook the ground as the water rose up, roaring as it crashed down killing hundreds of the Shiedos in the process. A cry of, "Teshi Sendan," was the only warning anyone had before the ground was peppered with small, white projectiles.

"Bunshin Taiatari!" Three streaks of orange formed and then a dozen more as speeding blurs slammed down onto the water/battlefield and exploded a moment later with a cry of, "Bunshin Bakuha," detonating them all to send the violent water flying back into the air and away from the shoreline where the guild members were located.

From the smoke stood two figures, one was unmistakably Naruto, the other was a pale skinned young man with white eyes that had the Rinnegan that Naruto had, masculine facial features, two dots on his forehead, and shoulder-length white hair which he wore divided down the middle of his head with a zigzag pattern for the parting with two separate parting on either side of his face. He wore black robes with red clouds on them.

The guild cheered for Naruto's timely arrival as he raised Kubikiri Bouchou onto his shoulder. At that moment the entire guild shifted and part of its right side detonated as a blast of wind struck the water and sent it high the air just as a high pitched whine sounded.

Sword raised, the blond grunted as he watched the next wave of emotionless creatures run at them. Cana didn't even register Kurama being gone. He was nowhere to be seen, not that that wasn't something he did every day. He vanished for one reason or another all the time.

The black cloak wearing person walked up to Naruto and stood at his side without a word spoken. Naruto just let an annoyed grumble as he turned and looked at the guild behind him. It was near ruined. It wouldn't stand much longer. The metal rods that stuck through it could only hold it for so long before the entire thing fell to a broken pile of wreckage. Seeing the guild the way it was, the way the guild members looked all battered and beaten up; Naruto just felt bad.

"_**It's not your fault," **_Kurama's voice whispered in his mind. _**"There is no reason for you to feel blamed for this."**_

Naruto tuned him out as he walked towards the advancing line. "Jose! I know you can hear me! Don't think I don't know that!" He waited and licked his lip. The advancing line had come to a halt but still looked ready to move. "I offer you one chance to surrender and leave. Failure to do so will result in your immediate destruction."

A click and a hiss and then Jose's voice came through the speakers. _"Uzumaki Naruto, the fabled Flash of Fairy Tail. It is an honor to be in your presence, as it was an honor being in Makarov's." _There was no hiding his detest of this cumbersome moment. Naruto smiled. He could work with this. _"You are a force all on your own, but like Erza and Makarov, I will obliterate you like the rest of your so called guild. The Abyss Break will fire in just nine minutes. You, like them, will soon be reduced to dust."_

Naruto clicked his teeth. "Yeah… I'm raining down death on you idiot."

"**I want his head!" **Kurama was even getting furious now.

Naruto's grip on his sword tightened and with a single wave the advancing line of Ghost Soldiers vanished without a scream. The water was still for only a moment before it exploded outwards and rushed the guild, crashing into the rocky underbelly of it. When the water came back at the blond it exploded backwards as though he had willed it and all was still again.

Unseen by all his body quacked. Kurama hummed in worry and amusement. He was mad as well, but Naruto was awakening to his former nature. The aura, the mindset, the sheer power that Naruto started radiating was the same for when he stopped armadas during the war. For him to return to that former state of mind was both a terrifying and thrilling thing for the Bijuu. Terrifying that he could return at the drop of a hat, and thrilling because no one had ever seen Naruto angry before. And an angry Naruto was a dangerous Naruto.

Another wave advanced and was able to get close enough to start fighting him. Naruto became a streak of white and orange, destroying everything without being seen. Some were knocked up and cut apart with nothing seemingly touching them. They danced into oblivion, reduced to flailing limbs before dissolving in nothing. Anything that got past some invisible line that they couldn't see had the other man stepping in and tearing them apart with a set of short swords. Nothing was able to step foot on dry land.

Members of Fairy Tail watched in awe as Naruto obliterated anything and everything that got in his path. No one dared to say anything. They had seen him fight large beasts of every kind, but this was different. They knew when he was playful and when he was serious. No one had ever seen him get angry before. It was like night and day with him. He didn't speak. He just slaughtered them. Killing creatures' likes these was very easy to do, but he made it look far easier; like he had slain real men and women before.

Within the field of destruction there was nothing but explosions and terrified screams from the shadow beasts. No matter how many he destroyed more came. The monsters were relentless, but the blond and the stranger with white swords continued their relentless barrage of destruction.

A few zipped by him while the two were busy dispatching others. Naruto hissed a curse and appeared on the shoreline with his hands blurring from rapid movements. "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" The water sloshed and then rose straight up into the air, dragging hundreds of Shiedos with it, and then took the form of a large serpent dragon that roared and thundered forward, bringing down a massive crash onto the other shadows. Dozens were consumed by the whitewash formed by the massive impact. Naruto didn't stop with his seals even as he jumped into the air and finished another set, this time crying out, "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu," spitting dozens of football sized fireballs down on the unsuspecting creatures.

A thick fog engulfed the battlefield and concealed the creatures from view until Naruto swung his oversized sword to blow it away without a word spoken. With the fog gone what remaining creatures grouped together as more of their kind appeared, these ones flying around their own. They were smarter now, though, as the creatures backed off, showing some form of intelligence for a change. Naruto didn't care if they wised up as long as they backed off. But the change did seem to bring about mass confusion from the others of the guild.

"_These things are just pale imitations of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."_

"_**Who cares what they are! Kill them all!" **_

"_Spare me the commands! I plan on it!" _Naruto brought his hands together a hundreds of more Shiedos descended up on them. Fairy Tail mages got ready for combat when Naruto suddenly screamed, "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," covering the entire beach and waterfront with a thick cloud of smoke. Several members coughed and then gasped as the sight of hundreds of Narutos, each and every single one looking very pissed off. "Jose, in a numbers game, I will always win. Unlike yours, however, mind can use my abilities just as easily as I can. And if one of me can fell a hundred of those imitations that you make, what can a few hundred to do you, I wonder."

(-)

Jose was furious.

The arrival of the blond had put a major cork in his plans, and with his abilities thus far victory wasn't looking to be achieved here with his clones and his proclamation just now.

Naruto was either bluffing him or he was deadly serious. It was hard to tell. But if one was strong enough to do in his army in the blink of an eye, what could hundreds truly do to him. Just having Lucy, which he didn't have the moment, wouldn't stop him. No. He didn't think about Naruto's status in the guild. He knew he was strong but they had never known how strong. He knew now that they had missed something and he was paying the price for it.

Jose knew they could retreat and take what they had. It wouldn't be long before he had Lucy. But they couldn't just leave either, even if they had the girl. That would make them appear weak. They already were in a bit of a crisis just because of how powerful Fairy Tail was. Starting a fight with them and then running for the hills because one man pushed him back would make them look horribly weak. Retreat wasn't an option.

He needed something to hold over Naruto. Naruto was a very protective person from what his information showed. He hadn't rushed into this blind. He knew that Naruto was over protective. When he appeared he had destroyed a tone of stuff just by showing up. So if he was that protective of just this place, it stood to reason that he might be protective if they captured someone and threatened them with death if he didn't back off.

Lucy appeared on his orb and his eyes brows rose. She didn't wear a red dress with white frills. She raised her arm and screamed, _"I am the one you want! Stop attacking our guild this instant!"_

"Master!"

"That's…"

Jose snorted and ignored them. Good people were so hard to find. "Be gone imposter." Lucy lowered her arms and looked strangely dejected. "I've known from the very start that Lucy isn't there!" A hand thrust forward and he smiled.

(-)

A small scream alerted everyone to someone was in distress. Mirajane had sunk into the ground and vanished.

(-)

"Deplorable girl, attempt to fool us like that… Now you will witness the end of your friends as you are slowly crushed."

Jose smiled at the sight of Mirajane, the once She-Devil of Fairy Tail, being trapped and beaten so easily. She was once one of Fairy Tails' strongest mages and now she was just a weakling with a pretty face. He won now even if they had Naruto. A hostage did wonders for these kinds of things.

A bright light formed and then punched right through the heavens. Jose stood up from his throne and stared at the floating orb in confusion. They had no mages that could do that with the exception of Makarov who was down for the count. There was no one else capable of something like this.

(-)

_Mirajane… I failed…_

Naruto's hand flinched until he heard a loud scream and rain began to fall.

"_Naruto… what was I to you?"_

"_I love you, Naruto."_

Voices. Hundreds of voices entered his mind. Kurama panicked from inside and tried to drown them out to no avail.

Failure. Death. Abandonment.

Naruto's mind was overloaded with guilt and visions of his past came back rapidly. He failed the guild like he failed his friends back home. Despair settled and then anger formed and then Naruto lost all sight of himself until Kurama's voice echoed through it all.

"_**Stand up and be strong!" **_Holding the side of his face, Naruto gasped and began to focus again. _**"You haven't failed them. **_**We **_**haven't failed them! I am here! Now… it's time to combine our thoughts and reflexes!"**_

The host for Kurama, Kyuubi no Yoko, heaved once and then felt his entire mind clear. The voices faded into nothingness and with his mind clear he linked directly with his tenant, though near unwillingly. It had been ages since they had linked on a level like this, but like riding a bike Naruto was able to quickly relearn the use of it all.

"_Right," _he replied mentally, smiling as he felt Kurama's mind link with his own.

His sense of smell, high eye sight, and his hearing increase. His muscles burned and then cooled as they rapidly grew back into the former strength they had when he used Kurama's power during the war. His head ached and then faded as the advanced healing took over to correct what the new heightened senses gave him.

The air grew thick and heavy as a hellish intent began to consume everything. The Shiedos that were flying fell like a heavy weight had hit them. Some stabilized and remained in the air. Others hit the ground and couldn't get up. Everything went still and then like an explosion had gone off all sound was washed away in a blast of pure destruction and a bright light that pushed everything away. A pillar of light rose up and punched a hole in the clouds. The light quickly faded and Naruto stood engulfed in an orange light-like flames. Black lines ran over his form and his whisker marks thickened into solider rectangle lines while his eyes turned red with a thin slit through them.

Eyes hooded, the blond breathed deeply as he pointed as the mass of creatures as a tiny ball formed at his fingertip. It hummed as it grew in size until it was baseball size.

There was no sound for a single second. There was only emptiness as a bright red beam flew from Naruto's finger and left nothing but a trail of destruction in its wake. The water had parted and steamed as if the idea of returning to its original form was without question. The huddled Shiedos were obliterated before they could move. The only ones to survive it were those that were in the air and high enough up to avoid the major piece of the blast. The Phantom Lord guild took a good chunk to its legs, but it was otherwise still standing up and looking just like nothing had happened.

Linked, Naruto felt Kurama's pain as well as his own. Both had felt the desire to never use this form, believing it too powerful for any reason. Nothing could ever warrant this forms usage. This form, along with the other power that came with the usage of the Rinnegan, was believed to be too strong.

Naruto snorted at the giant mechanized guild and began a slow approach as hundreds of Jose's Shiedos began falling from the sky to fill the missing gap in his immortal army of Ghost Soldiers. With his head down Jose couldn't see Naruto's expression through his orb, but it was very clear that he was pissed off as he waved one hand, slaying all of them with a blast of unseen wind. When the second wave approached, they spread out wide to avoid an instant death. Naruto gave them some credit but that credit was washed away as he vanished as his image faltered for a moment and then stabilized. When this happened all the Ghost Soldiers dropped dead at the same time.

Naruto began a slow approach towards the giant guild. Sword in hand, he wave it once more and felled another hundred or so Shades with a single swing and then ditched his sword, throwing at the shoreline as he made his march.

Hundreds more fell in place to replace them as Naruto's clones' slayed their share.

His walk soon turned into a jog and then turned into a full blown run. A single streak of gold was the only indication to where he was going. There wasn't a single person in the area that didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do. All they knew was what he did next. A high pitched whine sounded and then the none-writing arm fell to the ground. The entire guild shook violently as it lost its balance and fought to get it back. To no avail it would seem as Naruto started tearing it apart from both inside and outside. It convulsed like a living being as Naruto began shredding it. No amount of force seemed to be enough though.

Both guilds watched in horror at Naruto's near blind rage as he destroyed everything around him. Nothing seemed to be safe if you entered his field of vision. The building took the biggest beating of them all as he blasted or tore everything he could get his hands on.

"BIJUUDAMA!" The gut of the building was blown away and it threatened to topple forward. A sheer will to stand up stopped it. But the blast took a good portion of the thing away. A dozen people flew out of the wreckage screaming at the top of their lungs as they hit the water hard. Some might have died. It was unknown.

Naruto growled as he finished firing his rage induced Bijuudama and felt something connect with the back of his head. Whatever it was, it served only to anger him further as he turned to face a couple of Phantom Lord Members. This was just what he wanted: a reason to stay pissed.

He turned fully and slugged the man with enough force to knock all the air and his lunch right out of him while sending him flying back into his fellow members. They collapsed into a massive heap of broken bodies as Naruto then laid into them and began breaking them apart. They would survive, but just barely if they were lucky.

More of them showed up and Naruto began to beat them senseless just as he did the others. Nothing could survive a single punch from him without being rendering unconscious. His assault didn't even stop then as he found more people and beat them senseless, throwing them about the entire place and tearing up the building further in his rage induced rampage of destruction. He went from bottom to top just breaking stuff, then went outside and laid into the Shiedos before returning to the guild and laying into it. He was a blur of motion that couldn't be followed. He just destroyed everything he got his hands on.

A sonic boom sounded and the blond paused, appearing at the shoreline with a half-dead Phantom Lord Member in one hand and his fist cocked back in the other. Abyss Break was stopped and the giant guild was falling apart slowly as it succumbed to the damage done to it and because of its lack of magical power to keep it standing up. It was dead on its feet.

The blond felt his anger leave him, but his power remained behind. It wasn't fueled by rage like the original form was. It was fueled by Kurama and Naruto's resonating wills.

The man in his hand whimpered and was released. He ran away as fast as he could, dodging all of Fairy Tails' members that tried to take a swing at him.

"Naruto?" The blond turned to sound of Cana's voice as she approached him. She flinched at the sight of his crimson orbs. They were very beautiful. "Are you okay?"

He nodded mutely, smiling softly as he returned his gaze to the Phantom Lord guild.

The head of the giant guild exploded and fell off into the ocean. A bright light shined from the destroyed parts and everyone began to cheer as Natsu had seemingly brought down perhaps Phantom Lords' strongest member, second only to Jose. Two powerful auras fighting that were unmistakably Natsu and another Dragon Slayer with one falling and the other still standing; it was clear that Natsu won his match. It was time for Naruto to win his.

"Natsu won."

"Yeah, but it's not over yet." He turned and faced the other members. "Can you hold down the fort while I'm away? Or should I leave my friend, Kimimaro, here with you?" He jabbed a thumb in the direction of the man in question.

Cana gave the man a curious look as she considered her options. "Leave him and those copies of yourself as well, just in case more Shiedos appear."

A dozen more Narutos appeared from a thick cloud of smoke, all of them normal looking and not covered in the weird glowing aura. He turned to leave but Cana's small grumble caught his attention.

"Don't think I've forgotten about what you did before you left," she informed him. He smiled nervously and began marching towards the nearly destroyed guild.

With a though he appeared in the heart of the broken guild and began a war path for the strongest magical aura he could sense. It was right above him where he could hear screaming.

"Stop him!"

The blond looked down and say a dozen men running right at him with weapons. The first one to get too close was punched in the face. A loud crunch sounded and he dropped back dead. Naruto had snapped as he felt Erza's aura begin to fad.

"Get out of my way or die. You're choice." Holding one of the men in one hand while another was trapped under his foot, the approaching members stopped and considered their options. Too little too late, Naruto acted and began breaking them apart in a blinding flash of light.

No matter how he beat them up, more and more showed up ready to pick a fight with him. At what point would it be clear that he was more powerful than them? They should have already figured that out when he reduced them to ragdolls with the way he beat them up. Didn't they understand that or were they just that determined to have him beat them senseless? He crushed all in his path and only a few seemed to wise up after watching their comrades get mauled by him. Once one ran the others began to turn tail and run like the hounds of hell were after them.

Glade to have that over; he looked up and sensed out where Erza was. Her life force was slowly slipping away.

He forced chakra into his right hand and without a clone formed a Rasengan. He jumped and thrust it forward, shredding everything in his path for his friends. When he finally reached the area where they were located he was near horrified at the sight before. Mirajane, Elfman, and Gray were out cold on the ground. Ezra was screaming in pain through one of Jose's spells. Dark purple energy had consumed her and started to yank something out of her. A spectral image had formed in front of her as two large skulls tried suck her soul out.

In a streak of gold he zipped past Jose, knocking the man to his knees as he did, and reached out to Erza, grabbing her sword before it could touch her. A single pulse was all it took to disrupt Jose's magic and render the spell useless until he could cast it again.

"You look like crap," he joked. Erza looked up from her spot in his arms and gawked at his sudden arrival. "Sorry I'm late, but the hero always arrives at the last second. You okay?" He raised her sword that she had been levitating towards her back. She looked away, ashamed. Naruto sighed and turned towards Jose, his back to her after releasing her. "Erza, it takes guts to know how to live. Dying's easy."

"Sorry," she offered. "I had wished to not be seen as a burden to the guild. I wouldn't drag them down with me."

Kurama snorted through their mental link. Naruto could understand why he was mad because Naruto himself was mad. "Think about how the others feel before you do something that stupid. Just trying to not drag the guild down with your death wouldn't solve anything. They'd be happier to see you go down swinging rather than take the easy way out. Stand up and fight!"

The blond then turned his head just enough so that a single red eye was glaring past her.

A thunderous cloud appeared suddenly. An aura of destruction and yet peace and warmth descended upon them, washing away the aura that Jose produced. Erza felt her broken armor reform around her while Mirajane, Gray, and Elfman slowly got back to their feet. A bright light cascaded down from the heavens and floating in it was Makarov.

"Much blood has been shed… Children's blood… Children have suffered and shed tears because of their uncouth parents… On _both _sides. But is has gone far enough. This must be ended!"

Naruto cleaned out his ear with his pinky and flicked what he found at the ground. "Only an old man like you could pull off an entrance like that," Naruto commented with a sly grin. The old guild master had no comment for Naruto's words. He just stared at Jose, waiting for the first move while Erza smiled and shed a single tear for his return. "So, Jose, what's it going to be now? I promised to rain down death on your head as I recall. I'm a man of my word. I've thoroughly trashed this entire guild and killed a few of your members as a result. And you have no one to back you up."

"Naruto," Makarov's voice was strict and demanding of attention. "You will leave this to me. You have done enough now. It's time to let the parent take over. Take the others and get off. You'll only be in my way."

"I'm sorry, Makarov, but I refuse to leave until I have done what I must to clear my conscience."

The old man looked ready to argue against that but seeing Naruto's in his current form he thought better of it.

"I need this," Naruto whispered silently. "Please. Do not deny me this. I want to make amends and this is all I know how to do."

Sighing, Makarov scratched the back of his head. "Don't kill him. That's all I ask."

Jose opened his mouth and went flying back as Naruto appeared faster than the human eye could track and launched him at the set of stairs. Before he even touched them the blond was on him, grabbing him and throwing him straight at the floor where he hit with a loud crack. His body bounced and Naruto punted him at the doorframe above the stairs where he struck with a solid thunk.

Before he could hit the ground the Jinchuuriki was on him, standing above him with a frown. Jose twitched and was kicked straight up into the ceiling where his form left an imprint. Gravity took over and he soon fell to the ground gawking in pain. He was being hurt by an upstart brat. Sure this person was without a doubt strong, but his history wasn't anything like Makarov's or any of the other S-Rank Mages of Fairy Tail. He did a lot of S-Ranked Jobs but they were usually that long because of the time he'd be gone, not because of the difficulty.

Getting to his feet, he found the blond standing on a large pile of destruction, an evil look on his face. "Makarov hits harder."

Naruto said nothing as he pointed a single finger and then smiled.

The ground cracked and a bright red light broke through. An angry howl sounded and then the ground erupted skyward with a large red paw shooting out to grab him. Jose was dead in the water as the paw gripped him tightly and hoisted him up. A flash of red and the entire building was destroyed leaving only Jose, Naruto, and a large, red, demonic-looking animal behind his form. The Phantom Lord Master screamed as the head of the beast came down and-

Jose fell down to his knees and patted his person down. He was alive? The building wasn't gone? He looked up and saw Naruto still standing next to Makarov like nothing had just happened. Before he could even open his mouth to question them Naruto had once again reappeared in front of him put one finger to his shoulder. He frozen in a state of panic as intense pain coursed through him. His entire side burned and a low moan sounded as he felt his side vanish in a blinding ray of light and heat.

Jose dropped to the ground, screaming now as he clutched his missing arm. Naruto glared down at him with no remorse for him. His hand spread wide, he reached out and grabbed hold of Jose's face, electing a high pitched scream as the man tried and failed to back away. He felt the same presence as before and then nothing as a bright light engulfed his field of vision. He tried to scream but he failed as the glowing man suddenly smiled with a mouth full of shark-like teeth. A wave of heat-

The Dark Mage fell on his backside, confused at what was taking place. He should be dead. Eaten and then burned alive? He should seriously be dead.

Something wrapped around his throat. It grew tighter and tighter until he heard an audible snap before he had no more feeling below his stomach. The force that held him spun him around into the sharp red eyes of a monster with red fur, black rings around its eyes, and sharp teeth. Whatever it was it wasn't very happy.

Jose tried to form words but his mouth betrayed him.

The creature howled and tossed him into the floor. It grabbed one arm and tore it off while the other was used to hold him down. Now he could scream. He screamed loud and long as the beast tore the other arm off and then began tearing his insides up. It clawed and tore at everything inside him until it had fully found his heart. Jose screamed and tried to move but to no avail. He was paralyzed, thus meaning he couldn't move. The beast gave a delighted cry as it tore-

The Dark Mage was ripped free of whatever it was that had been looping him through this unending trial of death and hastily backed away. He didn't want to go through that again.

Saddened that his illusion through his killer intent was lost, the blond took a deep breath as he felt his power slipping. They hadn't done this in years so it was understandable to why he was losing power.

Still, it didn't mean this was over just yet.

Jose smiled once he realized her out of the illusion and waved a hand creating black and purple energy that slithered in his direction. The blond held his hands up front and fingers spread wide. Before the slithering energy could touch him had had vanished from sight in a golden flash. Jose pulled his slithering energy back and waited for the blond to appear.

The whistle of air being cut made the Dark Mage had to start twisting to avoid flying projectiles. Each of the projectiles stuck into the ground. This raining of projectiles didn't stop until the floor, the walls, and the ceiling that was still intact was littered with them. Only then did Naruto appear. His eyes were closed and his hands flexing.

"Pretty limber for a man your age, I'll give you that. However, you can't dodge this."

"Deddo Vevu!"

A blast of dark purple energy sailed in the direction of the blond. Naruto appeared right beside him as he fired the blast and touched his shoulder. Jose gawked and tried again, missing him once more as the blond appeared on the other side of his form.

"Stop mocking me!"

Small orbs shot from his fingers and detonated around the blond as he began moving at high speed again. Jose continued to blast everything he could see up until Naruto appeared with his strange eyes spinning rapidly. A flick of his finger and an impact happened between them. The detonation threw everyone back except for Makarov and the two combatants.

_Strange… _Jose blinked as he jumped back. Naruto did the same. _What's going on?_ Jose ran to the clockwise and Naruto did the same, stopping at the exact same time that he did. Confused, Jose raised one hand high and grew irritated as Naruto duplicated his motion at the same time. _My movements… He's completely…_

"…reading them."

_What? Did he read my mind? _Naruto's eyes continued to spin. Makarov was the only one laughing inwardly at this as Jose went through a dozen more random movements to try and throw him off, but to no avail. When Jose tried to use his finger flick ability like he'd done on Erza it was duplicated via Shinra Tensei. _That…_

"…freaky eye is pissing me off!" Naruto grinned. "Right?"

Jose shouted in a blind rage. "All you're doing is copying me! You can't beat me you monkey bastard!" Naruto and Jose spoke word for word in perfect sync. Dark purple energy began wafting off the enraged man. The air rapidly grew cold. "Damn you! I'll make is so you can never open that mouth again!"

"No." All the color left Jose's face he turned saw the blond holding several dozen knives at his throat from all direction. "You won't." His eyes continued to spin until they faded away and returned to normal. _I will not be denied. _Jose howled and flickered out of view. The blond turned and saw him standing in between him and the others, one hand holding a purple orb of pure dark energy.

"Deddo Vevu!"

Makarov was faster than the blond and erected a large golden array in the blink of an eye, shielding Erza as she braced for the blow. Naruto stood a little straighter as he knew his time was up.

"Naruto, I started this fight. I will now finish it."

The blond clicked his teeth but complied. No point arguing with a man that had the power to stand on even terms with him in a fight. He grabbed Erza, summoned four more clones-three of which scooped up Gray, Elfman, and Mirajane-while the last one went to look for Natsu and Lucy. He didn't say anything as he jumped from the hole in the wall and doped down onto the water to walk back towards the shoreline where the others were located. Kimimaro looked rather fine despite the fact that he was shirtless. A few girls were checking him out.

With a wave of his hand Kimimaro vanished and the blond released his link with Kurama. The aura faded and the power left him. Kurama appeared a moment later from his coat pocket like he'd been hiding in there the whole time. He scampered up Naruto's shoulder and sat down while everyone turned towards a bright light. The battle was decided.

"It's Fairy Law," Erza announced.

_A good Bijuudama would have been a better option in the end, _Naruto thought. Kurama turned and pinched his cheek as the light enveloped them both.

With the battle over, Makarov stood proudly on the debris of the guild. He looked heroic standing there as he proudly called an end to the battle and everyone began to cheer for their victory. "The victory was not by my hand alone! The victory belongs to our entire family…" Another round of shouting came around. Kurama joined them by howling and jumping around as Lucy returned with Happy and Natsu. It was good of them to return.

Cana grabbed her boyfriend up by his ear, ready to delve into promised pain for what he had done before he left. He put that on hold as he flashed a smile just as he teleported away in a flash of light. The blond appeared right next to the guild master and looked down on the cheering crowd.

"Nice view from up here," the whisker faced man commented. Makarov smiled but gave his friend a curious glance. "Well, it's time to go. The others want to see their hero return and let's not disappoint." Grabbing the old man by his shoulder the two reappeared in front of the guild members. "Good timing too."

"Why is that?"

A thunderous boom echoed and Makarov saw his shadow lurched forward. The water roared as it surged forward with the blast and then came crashing towards them. Mages rushed forward to stop the wave as Naruto grinned like mad. A few more explosions and the massive wave was dispersed near entirely, thus leaving the mages with nothing to do but cheer at the smoldering guild that was now a smoking heap of wreckage with no disguising form.

The old master just looked up at the Jinchuuriki with a heated looked as if he were thinking about lecturing him. Naruto just laughed it off, hands placed on his hips as he threw his head back for the effect. It was a big boom.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because it's blocking an awesome sunset. Duh!"

"The sun doesn't set to the north!"

"Yes it does. Didn't they learn you that while you was in school?" The blond laughed as Makarov suddenly went red in the face. One screw up and Naruto was going to poke fun of him for life. Oh well, he still had plenty of other things to hold over his head. Old men were dangerous people. Naruto turned his sights to the broken guild and sighed. "Looks like my clones lost the fight, though. I guess that means that I either lost control or those things wised up. I can't really tell."

"Man, I had planned on some renovations but this… This is a bit much." Makarov admitted with a tired sigh.

Lucy fidgeted with the dirt at her feet. "Master…"

"Looks like they put you through the ringer as well…" He commented on her beaten up form. Naruto eyed her as well. She looked like she had gotten a piece of the action as well. Kurama slinked up to her and sat down at her feet, alarming Natsu for the most part as Happy had done the same thing.

"Turn that frown upside down, Lu-Lu."

Lucy's head snapped in the direction of her blue haired friend. Naruto turned slowly and then gawked at her wounds. Her face had a few bandages on it, but Jet and Droy looked like they picked a fight with Natsu. Jet's arm was broken and in a sling while Droy had a broken leg, had his left eye bandaged up, and was forced to use a crutch for the broken leg. Reedus had a few bruises but was otherwise okay.

"We started out as a team… and we came out victorious as a team…"

"Truth be told, the guild's new look is growing on me," Droy admitted.

"Yeah… a few minor touchups and it'll be good as new," Jet added.

Kurama ran straight to Levi and began to dance at her feet, his silent way of saying he wanted to be picked up. Levi did as he wanted and scratched behind his ear as Lucy began to break down. She was trembling and Levi tried to smile and assure her but it didn't work.

"I should be-"

"Everyone here knows the score." Naruto raised a hand showing he didn't it. Kurama did the same, getting an annoyed sigh from the blue haired girl. "There's no need to beat yourself up over it. It's all good, Lu-Lu."

"I was completely useless… Please forgive my ineptitude." Reedus pleaded.

The blonde haired girl shook her head, not accepting it.

"Lucy." The old mage inhaled softly, taking a deep breath. "Everytime you laugh… everytime you grieve, pieces of those moments become our's as well. That's what it means to be a member of our guild. When a member is on cloud nine, we all float. When a member is outraged, we all clench our teeth. When a member weeps, we all wipe our eyes. So you have no reason to be riddled with guilt, because no one here holds you responsible. And why would they? You are, after all, a member of our family… a member of Fairy Tail."

Looking around, Lucy began breathing heavily as all her friends smiled at her, some giving her thumbs-up, but all smiling. Seeing their smiling faces she slowly broke down into tears as they all began to laugh to make her know that they truly cared for her.

Her guilt was assuaged by their warmth and laughter, the special bond shared by the member of Fairy Tail.


	6. The Awesome Art of Random Conversations

I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

From the minds of the HumanWiki and Myevltwin.

Anything you read in this fic should not be recreated or taken serious. If you find this stuff offensive, do not read this fic. You have been warned.

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 6

Naruto's feet were kicked up on the table of his home as his clones got to work repairing his room. He'd forgotten the whole reason why he'd even gone on the mission until he stepped through the front door and found his home a mess. PTSD was a real bitch for him. How come no one else in his world seemed to have it? What did they have that he didn't?

He chugged down his beer and sighed explosively. He'd made big words after the whole thing was all said and done with Phantom Lord by claiming that he was going to go home and have some sex. He had scooped up Cana, much to her enjoyment, and proceeded to walk home. It was when he got home that he remembered that it was trashed and had to play it off as a burglar or something had gotten into his home and decided that there was nothing worth stealing. They ended up having sex at her house because of his house being ruined, though neither really seemed to mind.

The next day they had gone back to the guild to begin cleanup when the Runes Knights appeared. Natsu and Happy tried to run but were stopped. Makarov cried because he didn't want to go to jail. Ezra tried and failed to comfort him. And then the Rune Knights did their thing. Of course they weren't allowed to speak with Naruto because the Magic Council wanted to speak to him and Makarov about the whole incident. Jose was present and refused or couldn't look in their direction the entire time.

The Council had requested Naruto stay for another meeting and discussed his abilities that he showed. They knew very little about his abilities. When they pressed for answers, Naruto had decided to turn it back on them and ask them about their abilities. They had decided to leave that alone for a later date, as they were too busy with other matters at the moment, but they did warn him that they were going to question him again about his strange abilities. Naruto had smiled and waved to them as he left, leaving in the most cruel of fashions for them to show his utmost disrespect: he used the Haraishin no Jutsu to leave and return home, thus leaving Makarov with the explanation for the ability he used.

After that little stunt he had demanded answers for why the battle had been fought at all. Learning the truth of the matter, he had been very furious with it all. Not telling him as soon as he had appeared had been a very good thing as he admitted he would have just killed everyone inside Phantom Lord and not cared at all. No one was allowed to harm his friends no matter the reason.

One week later Lucy had decided to pay her father a visit, leaving a very disturbing letter of Erza, Gray, Happy, and Natsu to find. They had followed her to where she lived, ready to fight her old man to take her back, but there was no fighting for them. Lucy told her old man off, put him in his place, and then stormed out. When word got to Naruto about this, he had decided to get drunk and wash away the memories that he didn't have about his old man.

Skip ahead to one week later and the guild was slowly coming back together all thanks to the plans that Makarov had come up with. After working all day everyone had gone home to rest and come back tomorrow to start up again. Of course Naruto had decided to make the effort to get drunk in his home which brought along Makarov and Cana. Mirajane had tagged along with Erza to his place, but the barmaid had returned home after only a few shots. Erza declined the offered beverage and stuck with water.

"Get your feet off the table," Cana ordered. She fiddled with the beer bottle and then took a swig. "It's impolite to do that in front of guests."

"My home, my rules," he replied, only to be shoved backwards as he leaned too far back in his chair. "You made me spill my beer!" He stood up, patting at his shirt as his girlfriend glared at him. She'd learn him a thing or two about manners. With his shirt soaked he decided to remove it, thus getting a raised eyebrow from Erza as she took a sip from her cup. "My home, my rules. You don't like it, you can kiss my ass."

Kurama cheered to that, strangely enough, from his spot at the table where he drank his own beer. Seriously, if there were animal protection group or something he'd be in jail pretty fast. Feeding them 'human' food was one thing, but letting him drink beers… that probably didn't fly too well. Luckily for him there wasn't such a group… or at least one that he knew of.

"So Loki turned out to be a Celestial Spirit all this time? Didn't see that coming? How's he doing?"

"Fine," Erza answered. Cana snapped her fingers in front of her face and gave a warning glare at her. "I have manners, Cana. I'm not looking at his chest or anything else. I can always keep my eyes up on Gray's face, why do you think I wouldn't be able to do the same with Naruto?"

"Not taking any chances," she replied tightly. Naruto snorted as he put his feet back up on the table. "Get your feet off the table! Didn't anyone ever teach you anything about manners?" She kicked him in the back of the knee, aiming to take his feet off said table. Nothing happened. He didn't even budge. Seeing that method out of the picture she stood up and knocked his chair out from under him this time around. Naruto hit the ground hard, yet his feet stayed right where they were. "How do you do that?"

"Magic," he replied.

"Bullshit."

"It's the truth. I'm a man of many talents." Makarov chuckled into his beer as the blond got back to his feet, fixed his chair, and then put his feet right back on the table. Cana gave up and sat down beside him, making sure he was within swatting range if he got to uppity. "I'm taking a break from work for a bit, so you all know. I'll be sticking around here for a bit."

"If you're worried about protecting the guild, don't." Makarov took a sip of his beer before continuing. "I'm back to normal now and will be on location to protect it if things go down around it. I highly doubt anyone wants to pick a fight with us after our display of power, too."

"It's not that, though that is a small part of it." Naruto got up to grab a fresh beer and checked to see if anyone else wanted one. Cana finished hers and nodded while Makarov just wanted one so Naruto didn't have to get up again. "The main reason I'm taking time off is because I'm getting tired of being away all the time. Plus, I think I've earned it. I've got enough money to support myself for a while. If I need any extra cash I can always just do a few small time jobs around town. No biggie."

"So what are you going to do with your time off?" Erza asked. "We're fixing to leave for a few days and stay at the resort on the beach. I forget the name right now, but I know it's the expensive one." She was getting rather tired. "You should join us."

"Beaches and rich places aren't my thing. I'd rather stay in a forest somewhere. I feel more at home in a forest with lots of running space."

"We could always just go to my place and spend the entire week cooped up," Cana suggested. Naruto arched a brow while Kurama began chasing after his tail. He was drunk and Naruto wasn't. That was how things should be. "Or we can go into the forest, just the two of us, and spend some quality time together without Kurama around." Kurama finally caught his tail and bit it, grinning like an idiot. The conversation stopped and all eyes turned on the fox as he happily munched on his tail three times before the pain kicked in and he yelped. "You're drunk."

"**Are not! I'm perfectly sober." **He fell off the table and hit the floor. **"Yeah… I'm drunk. I'm going to go find my bed now and-Ohh… floor pie!" **Kurama's words translated out to pizza as the fox happily jumped on said food and began devouring it with all haste.

"Where did you find him? I want one," Erza stated.

"You don't wanna know." Naruto took another shot from his beer and then opened up his new one. Makarov did the same. "Besides, it's been a while since I just spent some time in the forest. Kurama is the same. We both need to relax in an area we fill most comfortable in. There's nothing quite like camping out in a forest. You guys should try it some time. It's very relaxing."

"Yes. There's nothing like waking up with the animals as they scream their morning songs while you wake up from a hangover," Cana said while sipping her new beer. She smacked her lips twice and then downed the whole thing. "I'd go with you, but me and forests and wild animals don't mix. If I have a hangover, I'm very irritable in the morning."

"Then don't drink."

The daughter of Gildarts gave her boyfriend a very harsh glare. He smiled at her until she stood up and jumped down on his lap. Makarov gave a wolf whistle and was reprimanded with a slight whack to the head via a clone that was passing through.

"How do you have that ability?" Erza pointed at the clone that had gotten something to drink for it and its five other brothers that were still busy remodeling the bedroom. "Can you finally answer my question or do I need to beat it out of you?"

Naruto downed his beer and gave his girlfriend a pout. She sighed and got up so he could get another one. He brought the last of the six-pack with him. They'd need to get more if they planned on drinking any more. Passing them out, he sat back down and Cana took her spot again. She wiggled her butt and Naruto hissed as he forced his will over his blood so he wouldn't get erect. "It's an ability called Kage Bunshin. They can do everything I can do. All of my abilities can be done by them, and whatever knowledge they gain, I gain as well."

"That could make you a very powerful person."

"It can and it does, but the drawback to it is that if they all disperse at the same time in large quantities they can knock me out. It takes a lot of energy to use them since it splits my original energy to make just one. And I can make up to a thousand of the things and still make more if I wanted to." He took another sip from his beer and then sat it down. Cana grabbed it up and downed it before she began downing hers. Naruto raised his hands to the side as if to say, "The hell was that for," before snagging hers and letting some of it spill down her top. She elbowed him in the chest and then snatched up another.

"What about that glowing form you had and the teleporting ability? I fought Jose for a while before either of you showed up. He was pretty fast. I had a hard time just keeping up with him. Let it be known, however, that I was very weak from taking the Jupiter blast, though. So I wasted a lot of my magical power before fighting him."

"The glowing form is forbidden by me exclusively. I shouldn't have used it. It's too powerful for anyone to deal with. Jose was lucky that I haven't used it in so long that it died out before the time limit truly kicked in. The highest point I had it at was one hour, but that would leave me badly drained. I think it lasted about ten minutes through the whole thing before fading. I sort of forgot how to properly use it for a while. But the teleporting trick I used is something that Makarov knows about."

Naruto produced a kunai from a cloud of smoke and tossed it to Titania. She caught it and examined. Makarov sneered at the thing, it being the cause of a lot of trouble for him. The weapon was a knife with three blades, one long one, and then two short ones curving out from the side of it, while the handle was wrapped in a fine cloth and covered in runes she hadn't seen before. If it was something she found on the ground she'd have taken it with her for study.

Handing it back to him, Naruto explained. "The ability is called Haraishin and anywhere one of these is placed I can teleport to. I don't even need the weapon either." He pointed to the formula tag on the handle. "It took me a long time, but I was able to do what the creator was able to do with this and use the same runes on this to actually forcefully make them appear wherever I want so long as I can see where they're going. This is the real import part to it. But you also have to be able to pick and choose which ones you go to or you might just teleport yourself smack dab into a tree or something else. It's a very dangerous skill to have. Makarov here wouldn't let me put one in the guild so that I could get back quicker if I needed to. Look at what that did."

"Are you saying the entire reason the guild was demolished is because I wouldn't allow you to put one of those damn things in the guild?" Naruto nodded and the small man stood up, glowering down on him. "Fine! I'll let you put one in the guild when it's repaired. Will that make you happy?"

"Yes. Very!"

Cana slapped her boyfriend and chugged the last of her two beers down. Makarov pulled his closer to his chest and even hid them. Naruto put his last one on his chest, which meant it was in Cana's back. She took the cold torture and just sat there with her back against it and his chest. It would warm up and be bad sooner or later. He'd regret it.

"Last question." The redhead finished off her drink. "What was that large sword you were using? I've never known you for swordplay."

"That was a memento from a fallen friend. It's his sword that I took up after he was defeated. He was a cruel man that believed all warriors or mages were tools. Emotions were just an obstacle. Something to simply overcome. But I was able to change him before he ran off to his death because he had been betrayed. I took it up from his successor who also fell in combat. We had been good friends so I kept it as a memento to them so I'd never forget them. Its name is Kubikiri Bouchou."

"Decapitating Carving Knife," she repeated in its translated form. "Strange name for something that big. I bet repairing it is expensive."

"Not really. It hardly sees combat. Even if it was cracked or broken, it's an easy remedy."

"Oh? How?"

Makarov arched a brow as well as he awaited the response. Naruto fiddled with the mouth of his beer before downing it. "Human blood," he answered. The two scooted back a bit. Cana turned her head just enough to show her shock as well. "When the sword was made, and I have no idea on how, it was designed with the ability to repair itself by absorbing human blood for the iron that we all have in our blood. This makes the sword impossible to destroy so long as there is still a blade to it. I've never seen it get reduced to just the handle. As long as there is blood for it to feed on, the sword will never be chipped, dulled, or broken, making it the ultimate blade despite its weight."

The redhead licked her lips in thought over that. Naruto didn't strike her as the type to kill really. Sure he lost control of his emotions during the fighting, but she had never seen him flat out directly kill.

Cana finished her beer, which was the last one for her, and began trying to steal Naruto's as Makarov said, "I suppose with the rest of the guild knowing about your Kage Bunshin ability we can rebuild the guild a bit quicker. And if anyone complains, threaten to have them leave the work to them."

"At least we can still take jobs," Cana grumbled.

"I'm not taking any."

"You make enough money with your porn books to never take a job."

"She's quite right," Erza admitted, hiding her blush in her empty cup. A clone came by and snatched it up for a refill. They all knew she was blushing now. "How do you get the creative information for it?" No such luck in turning that back on him. All eyes were on her. "When's the next copy coming out," she finally asked, more or less admitting to the fact that she read his work.

Instead of answering, he turned and looked at Makarov, saying, "Do you remember when I gave the first book to Erza?" The old man laughed. "I still think it was hilarious when she grabbed up Natsu because he couldn't read worth a damn and made him read it for two reasons: the first being because he couldn't read to save his life and the second because she wanted to teach him about the Birds and Bees." Erza went completely red in the face and tried to hide it in her cup that had been returned. "I still can't believe Natsu ran around the girls showers trying to see a," he coughed and used his best voice to imitate the pink haired mage, "honey pot." Cana cracked up laughing, along with Makarov. Erza tried to hide her smiling face at that memory.

"How about Levi?" The daughter of Gildarts asked. "She got a hold of one of you books and wanted to see a man's 'furry little creature'." Erza lost it and fell over laughing at that point. Makarov started pounding on the table as a result. "Didn't she try to check you out?" Cana asked her boyfriend.

"Yeah… And I hate a smart girl. I swear. I told her they were poisonous and she said that wasn't possible because Kurama would be dead." All three began laughing again at Naruto's plight. "I hate a smart girl like that, I swear."

Kurama jumped up on the table, clawing at it when he failed the jump, and then sat down on his haunches with the remains of his captured pizza in his mouth. Erza gave him a funny look as he absentmindedly munched on his captured food. "How is he even drunk," Cana asked for Erza. "You both can't get drunk off this stuff. You have to have the magically altered stuff or something beyond a hundred and twenty percent. So how are you even drunk if this stuff is like water to you?"

The small fox grabbed the pizza from his mouth and waved it around while finishing the remains. He had manners. **"I'm bored and I want attention." **The redhead chuckled and reached out to pet him. Kurama lurched backwards and avoided her touch like the plague. **"I don't want to be touched by you, Demon!"**

"Kurama, give it a rest."

"What's his deal with me, anyways?" Erza asked Naruto. "Why does he have such a fear of redheads? It makes no sense at all."

The blond pulled his beer from his chest and gave it a hard look. The bottle was slightly warm. "Kurama just hates redheads because he was abused by two redheads in the past. So he has no respect for any of them. He doesn't trust them about as far as he could throw them." The small fox nodded as he finished off his pizza. "Just accept the fact that he doesn't like you and this will go much smoother."

"Is there any way I could possibly change his mind?" She really didn't like being hated by anyone, even animals. Kurama was a part of their guild. He was family. She was honor bound to make him like her and see her as family. He could see everyone else as family but her. Plus she really wanted to pet him. His fur looked so soft.

"Dye your hair a different color. Maybe he'll like you then."

"**Nope. I'd still hate her."**

Naruto gave out an exasperated sigh of frustration, both for how his tenant acted around Erza and the other because his beer was rather warm. Not cold at all. He'd have to get Cana back for that little stunt.

Erza stood up and coughed in her hand. "I must be going, Naruto. Thank you for having me over. It was… entertaining to say the least." Her eyes danced to Kurama as he began glaring at her. It looked like the fires of hell burned in his eyes as he watched and waited for her to do something he wouldn't like. She washed her cup and saucer, bid Makarov and Cana farewell, and then left, but not before turning towards Naruto and saying, "When will your next book be out?"

"I still need some inspiration." He paused and grinned. "If you end up having sex with Lucy, please take photos. That might help since Suzy is a lesbian." There wasn't a single person in the guild that didn't know that Suzy was based off of Erza. So long as she got the new books before they came out she didn't care at all that she was used as a model for the book. Levi was hinted to be another model for the book as well, but she remained tightlipped over whether or not it was a true.

"So are we talking a month or something?"

Naruto wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. She was flustered and he was enjoying it. "Maybe another month. I've been gone doing missions, remember? Don't get much time to write while I do those. I'm back now, so I'll write some and get it done with."

Accepting the answer she got, she then walked out the door. Makarov stood up and said it was time for him to leave as well, also telling them that if they were going to get naughty he wanted photos as well for no other reason than just to have them. Cana had reached for her magic cards and the small man hastily exited the home, laughing as he did.

With the others gone, minus the clones and Kurama, Cana twisted around so that she was straddling her boyfriend, and then kissed him. The shared kiss lasted only a moment as she began feeling him over. Naruto did the same and removed her top as they kissed again.

"Bed ready?"

Naruto laughed, their lips still locked while saying, "Not even close. They didn't get a new one yet. Couch?"

Her hands ran down his pants and grabbed his butt. He smirked and stood up, grabbing her butt to hold her up. "Table," she answered.

"Nice."

Just like that they started making out and then progressing to sex. Kurama remained on the table until Cana lost her pants and panties. When she lost them she had been rolled over and Kurama had made a snide comment that got him a clean slap to the face that knocked him off the table. He got the last word though as he walked towards his hidey-hole.

(-)

"So you finally got back, huh?"

Naruto licked his lips and turned around slowly to see his former friend standing with his arms crossed over his chest and a sneer on his face. Laxus, the grandson of Makarov, stood behind him. Naruto once considering him a good friend, but then things changed. He became power hungry and started being a danger to the guild. Makarov hadn't gone as far as to kick him out just yet, but with the way things were progressing it seemed that was rather close at hand.

Laxus was a good boy when he was younger. But he changed when his father was kicked from the guild for being a threat to him. The change from an upstanding young boy to a cruel man began shortly after that. It was clear he was going down a darker path than what the guild was meant to take. He believed that the guild needed to be strong. So strong in fact that no one could ever hope to challenge them.

As soon as Cana and Naruto had gotten to the guild that was still being worked on they got to work. Naruto had created a hundred Kage Bunshins in order to help with the construction. When he had pressed to make more, Makarov had forbid it because he wanted the others to put in the effort of actual work. A dozen or so had gone off to do various jobs to get out of rebuilding the guild headquarters.

Of course there were some members that really didn't want to help because they felt they didn't have to help for one reason or another.

"What do you want, Laxus? I'm kinda busy at the moment."

The lightning mage smirked, showing his teeth fully. He looked ready for a fight.

"I heard you used a new power. Mind if I see it?"

"No. Now leave. I'm busy helping Makarov rebuild the guild."

Makarov's grandson looked up at his grandfather in his giant form as he hammered more of the sturdy beams into place for the foundation of their new headquarters. "I think he's got it. So how about me and you have a throw down."

"How about you leave before Makarov gets upset with the fact that I'm not helping and you get in trouble." To make a point he pointed in the guild masters' direction. Laxus offered a sharp look and saw that Makarov was in fact eyeing the two of them. "Unless you want to explain yourself to Makarov, I suggest you leave me to my own devices. Why don't you help out? Get the building up faster and then you can go back to mocking us on the _bottom _from your happy perch on the _top floor_."

Laxus backed off from that point.

Naruto watched him go before he returned to work. He grabbed up another load of wood and began hanging it to Makarov. The giant sized man took them and hammered them into place in silence.

"Hardhat," Makarov finally offered.

Naruto laughed and said, "Not much left to damage, I'm afraid," as he banged the side of his head with a balled up fist.

Makarov just laughed. Naruto was hardheaded enough that he probably didn't need one anyways, even if that saying was figuratively, Naruto could probably make it literally.

Naruto cast a quick glance in Cana's direction and sighed. She was still sore.

(-)

"You okay?"

Cana licked the bottom row of her teeth before shaking her head. She was good friends with Mirajane and yet she felt strangely uneasy around her. Naruto was Mirajane's ex-boyfriend who just so happened to be her boyfriend now. Naruto did the breaking up, which usually meant that the ex-girlfriend became jealous of the new girlfriend. If Mirajane was jealous she sure wasn't showing it-which was a good thing!

"I'm fine."

"**How are you fine?" **Kurama asked, not believing her at all. **"Naruto rocked your world last night for hours on end. You nearly outlasted him! And you say you're alright? What the hell is wrong with you?" **The barmaid lightly smacked the nose of the small fox. He licked it on impulse and then turned on the barmaid. **"What was that for?"**

"Behave and I won't swat your nose." He licked his nose again and then scampered into Cana's arms. The young woman blinked but complied with his strange demands to be held. "So I guess you had a fun night last night?" Mirajane put on a lectures smile. Even she wasn't that innocent.

Cana went red in the face. There probably wasn't a single person in the guild that didn't know she was sleeping with him. Well, her father didn't know about it. He was away doing the hundred year mission right now. He hadn't been back for a few years now. She was missing him, but she really didn't want to explain that to her old man.

"Without Natsu and Gray around, this place is rather quiet." Cana nodded her head in agreement. "It's already feeling a little down and gloomy without them to start fights. I'm sure that as soon as we get the building back together they'll start brand new fights to destroy it."

"**And that idiot, Happy, will be back to bringing in those smelly fish." **He was smacked lightly by Mirajane again. **"What? You're all thinking it, I'm just saying it. Don't get mad at me because I speak the truth."**

"Truth or not, Happy is as much a family member to us as he is you. Never forget that. He's basically your brother here."

"**I will be damned before I ever see that idiot, or any other cat, as my sibling." **_**Only one has ever had that title and he isn't Matatabi. **_**"Besides, why should I see another species as a sibling of any kind?"**

"Because it's the right thing to do and that's how we work here, Kurama. You know this."

"**You make that sound like you are supposed to be my sister or something."**

"If you'd like me to be that, then yes. I can easily be your sister." She flicked her nose and he licked it again and then scrunched it up.

"**Well if that's the case, I just learned a new thing about you, I guess. Didn't know you were into incest. I mean, you're supposed to be a sister figure to me, that means you're a sibling to Naruto, which means you're into incest. Does that mean you're sleeping with your brother? Oops! I mean Elfman."**

Mirajane narrowed her eyes on the little fox. If she could she would have knocked him right out of Cana's arms for that remark.

Cana hugged him closer and then took a swig of her alcoholic beverage. No barrel for her right now. They didn't have any of those since the place had been destroyed and they couldn't get it fully restocked. That would be possible when the guild headquarters was standing again. That didn't look to be for another three or four weeks. Standing around drunk or being an eye tease wasn't what she wanted to do today anyways. She wanted to do something fun.

"Any good jobs for around here right now?" She asked while standing up.

She hugged Kurama and then felt him scamper up her arm and drape himself around her neck so he was lying on her shoulders. Mirajane didn't answer and just watched her friend walk over to the board where jobs could be taken. She looked through each of them before realizing that nothing good was on them. She really wanted to do something easy, but this was kind of hard to do. Working on the new building was hard to do, too. She liked a good workout just as much as everyone else did that worked here, but she was just a little… tired today. Tired and sore. She didn't want to work. She didn't want to sit down. She sure as hell didn't want to walk around all day either.

Mirajane, however, just watched them go with curious look in her eyes. She knew when something was up. Cana was thinking. When Cana started to think a little too hard she got that weird look in her eyes like she was looking straight through, not listening to you, or just completely out of it. Cana needed a boost and she needed it now.

"Nee-chan," Elfman called out. Sweaty, grimy, and shirtless, her brother walked over to her and plopped down on the barstool. "Can I have some water? Two jugs if you have it."

The barmaid nodded absentmindedly as she went to fetch them. She hadn't asked why. That got Elfman's attention pretty fast. When she returned with the ordered items, he gave her a long, hard look and then touched her forehead. Confused, she offered the drinks but he didn't take them. Instead he focused on her face and taking her temperature with his hand.

"What are you doing," she finally asked.

"You don't look too well." He took one of the jugs and took a big swig. Wakaba shouted at him for his drink while Macao made fun of him for being the first to fall in a game of they had going. Elfman ignored Wakaba and continued to look after his sister. "You don't seem to have a fever."

"Elfman, I'm fine. I was just thinking about Naruto and Cana, that's all." She shoved his hand away. The giant of a man clicked his teeth together but then let it go. "Cana seems to be a little distracted today," she explained. "I was just thinking about how Naruto and she need to spend more time together. Naruto's usually not back for long periods of time and from what I heard he's not taking any more jobs for a while. I think he's doing it to help get the guild back together, but I could be wrong."

"Well, it is manly of him to help in the reconstruction. And those copies that he can make sure are helpful." Elfman stood up clutching both jugs and waved his sister goodbye as he went to deliver his cargo to Wakaba.

Mirajane sighed and went back to work cleaning dishes and going over jobs requests that were coming in. Booking them was the only hard part. She went through a dozen of them as more and more people showed up requesting work. One stood out because it was just weird. "Cure a man of his phobia of fire," she read. That sounded like a guy that had a fear of Natsu after one of his random destruction sprees that he did while doing jobs or by training.

She logged it and then continued on.

(-)

Alzack gave Bisca a heavy glance. He was in love with her. Yet he couldn't approach her. How do you approach someone in the guild that you have a crush on? What if they reject you? Do you switch guilds? Never show up again while they're there? What? No. He couldn't approach her.

"Focus." Alzack snapped from his daydream and stared directly into the blue eyes of Naruto. Elfman had returned and Wakaba was taking a break with his buddy. "I'm going to hit you with one of these pretty soon if you don't get your head out of the clouds."

"Sorry," he apologized as he went back to nailing the support beams in. His Gun Magic was very helpful here. Even more helpful than Naruto's clones. Naruto admitted that himself. What could take hours upon hours of work to do wouldn't take nearly as long with him shooting every nail they needed placed with his guns. Too bad they didn't have something like that for normal people. Carpenters would have a field day with something like that. "Shirtless or no?"

"Cana sees me naked at least twice a week if I'm here. If I'm about to leave in like three or four days, we spend it together and she sees me shirtless or naked every one of those days." Naruto took the offered support beam from Elfman. The big man was lumbering the things up to them where they were passed off to Naruto and one clone. Alzack was walking over them and nailing them into place with his magic. "Also, it depends on who's looking. Take Elfman for example." Said man laughed as he chucked another one up to Naruto for placement. "He's shirtless and doesn't care. The only reason I have a shirt on is because Cana said she'd jump me if she saw me covering sweat, wearing blue jeans, boots, and no shirt. As much fun as it is having sex, even I have to say no at times. She does too."

"At her age, sex is like breathing. Can't live without it."

"That's not true. You'd be dead."

"I meant for those that have had a taste of sex. Not for those of us that haven't."

The giant of man began laughing and scratching at his nose. "Just because someone hasn't had any doesn't mean they can't go crazy," he stated, more or less defending himself in this sense. "Aren't you thirsty yet? We've been doing this for eight hours and it's hot. I'm not complaining. I think it's manly that you two have lasted this long without a drink or any rest."

"I'm a stamina freak. Didn't we go over this?" The blond laughed when the male Strauss suddenly gave him an exasperated sigh. "Oh that's right. It was Mirajane when she was talking about all the sex we used to have. My bad."

"I still have nightmares about that."

Alzack nailed another one into place while laughing. "What's the record? Four hours?"

"Five, actually." The blond took another beam from Elfman and with the aid of his clone put it in place for a good old hammering. "Cana can't last that long, not that I'm complaining. Kurama sure as hell ain't complaining neither. He didn't like the fact that Mirajane could basically put me in the hospital when we were having sex. I still have scratch marks!"

"That just proves Nee-chan is more of a man than you are."

"Do you listen to what you say at times? Seriously? Am I the only one that thinks that's a little weird?"

"Alzack, just learn to deal with it. Elfman has his thing. You have your thing. I have my thing. We all have a saying." The blond paused to look over at Bisca. "So have you asked her out?" Silence and a shake of the head. "You need to ask her out."

"What if she rejects me?"

"Then you move on," Elfman answered. He shoved another beam up to them. They were almost done. Then they'd get to put in the walls, which would be so much easier. Not that he was complaining. This was as good as any time to show how manly he was. "You should just go ask her out and if she rejects you, just move on. That's what I've learned to do. I ask someone, they tell me no, and I move on. It's that simple." On that note, he turned and looked at his blond friend with a smile. "So have you asked Cana to marry you yet?"

"You know," Naruto snapped as he took another beam and slammed it into place, "we've been dating for like, what, two years now? Going on three almost? Why should marriage be at the top of my list for things to do with her? I'm always away so we've only actually been together for like a year if you break it down. We're not even living together. Though, we are considering it. We're trying to figure out if we want to buy a home or have one of us move in with the other. Not sure which."

"Go for buying your own home," Alzack offered. "You own it, can do anything you want on it, and you have it located just about anywhere. Hell. You could buy some land and just build the house of your dreams. That's what I'd do. Buy some land, build a house, and turn it into a ranch to raise horses and cattle while practicing my magic. Nothing wrong with that."

"That seems a bit too much for my taste," Naruto answered. "I'd have my place built in a forest, maybe on a mountain somewhere, that's two floors with a third being a basement, a deck, and maybe a garden somewhere around there. I'd probably put in a pool too unless there was a lake or something nearby."

Elfman laughed. "I don't know where I'd go if I owned land and built my own house. Too early to be thinking about it."

"It's never too earlier to think about your dream home. Didn't you ever just draw a house on a piece of paper or something, a few floors, and a window with someone inside it when you were a kid?" Alzack looked at his large friend with a smile. Naruto had a point. "I never really did it until I joined this guild, and the only reason I did it was because Romeo wanted to have a drawing contest with me. Macao said he wasn't that great of an artist and was trying to get his confidence up about it. We had a battle of art! I lost. Go figure."

"That was manly of you."

"That was stupid of me! He holds it over my head that he's better than a world renowned author. Little bastard. Good kid. I love him to him death. But I swear I'm going to kick his ass the next time he tries to hold that shit over me."

"I bet you'll be an awesome father," Alzack commented after that little remark. "What would you do if your son got an F in English or something? You won't be able to pass down your penname or anything like that."

"Yeah that totally sounds like a good thing any father would wanna do. I totally wanna hand down my penname and company as an author of adult literature." Naruto stopped and fell to his knees laughing. Where did he hear that from? "You know what I just realized? I'm an idiot. When I was younger my master who trained me wrote this stuff as well. I was about twelve at the time and always thought he was idiot. He needed to train me and all he'd do is go to the nearest hot spring or lake and just check out the girls. He'd call it research. What the hell do I do now? Same damn thing!"

"You grew up. You became a man."

"Elfman, let's be honest right now. I became a man and then a woman when your sister fucked me. She rapped me. The only time I dominated in bed with her was after she spent all day fighting Erza. Those were far and few between. I became a man the first day we had sex and then a woman thereafter when she dominated me. I didn't get penetrated unless you count being stabbed by her nails she's holding onto me for dear life as I rock her world."

"This is Nee-chan we're talking about. I'd rather not hear about your previous love life."

"How'd we even get on this conversation?" Alzack asked suddenly. He jumped down from the now stabilized support beams. Naruto followed and then locked gazes with Elfman. They looked confused, just like how he was. "Strange how a conversation can travel to something like that, huh?"

"I guess," the blond mussed. He slapped the Gun Magic users' shoulder with a big grin. "Now is the perfect time for you to test the water with Bisca." Alzack rolled his eyes. "You're covered in sweat. You're wearing blue jeans that have some wear and tear to them. You've got boots on, though those aren't really needed. Now you just need to do is take your shirt off, walk across her field of vision, and then come back here so we can tell you what she did."

The western man snorted and turned away from the woman of his dreams. She was talking with Romeo about something.

"I'd rather not."

"Naruto," Cana shouted. "I need to talk to you! Got a minute?"

"Yeah," he replied. He turned to Alzack with big grin. "If she's breaking up with me, I'm going after Bisca. Just thought I'd give you a heads up."

Alzack began gritting his teeth at the very idea. Naruto wasn't taking his girl. No way.

Naruto made his way over to Cana and grew irritated when he saw the familiar form of the rich client. He looked quite pleased with the construction that was underway. He was making comments about it to Makarov, who had returned to normal size for this meeting. Cana looked rather annoyed towards the man. She didn't know him directly, but she knew enough to know that when he showed up Naruto usually vanished for a month or two because of a job.

Walking up to him, the Jinchuuriki greeted him with a wave. "You called for me?"

The rich man in a blue suit smiled at him, adjusting his sunglasses as he said, "Uzumaki, it's been far too long."

"I know. I'm on break."

"So I've heard." He gave Cana and Makarov a warm smile. "Can we talk in private? This will only take a moment of your time." Cana grumbled in her throat. The man ignored her with a very big smile as the blond looked past him and towards his girlfriend. She was glaring a hole into the back of the mans' skull. If she was going to kill him, she had the right face for it.

"Sure," the blond answered quickly, despite himself. "Lead the way."

The client smiled and walked off after bowing to show his respect to the others that were present. Naruto followed in silence until they were out of the town and into the forest.

"So what's this all about? Before I stormed out I told them that was taking a break. They all agreed. So why are you here when I told them I was on break?"

The man made residence on a large stone and licked his lips in thought. He brought on a small folder and passed it to him. The blond snatched it up and began shifting through it. The first page had him.

"This man is no joke. He recently appeared and he's a rouge agent." He licked his lips in thought before continuing. "We thought he was dead a few years ago, but he appeared last year and when we tried to find him for elimination he vanished. We never found him until recently."

Naruto stopped listening, which the man picked up on, and continued reading the report. The guy had a bad rap. He was a mercenary for hire. No job was too great for him. He took pleasure in killing people, even going so far as to torture them for days before ending them. He was acrobatic, physically fit, skilled in four forms of martial arts, and his magic was enhancement based. The only thing that really stuck out was that they didn't have a real name on and he changed his appearance so much that no one knew who he really was. No magic either.

"Is it a name that's passed around?" Naruto asked suddenly. He snapped it closed and handed it back.

"No. He's actually one person. Same build. Same fighting style. Same magic. Face, hair, eyes, and names are the only things that change. No change in body structure or fighting style."

"So why are you coming to me? I'm on break."

"There's a chance he's going to target Fairy Tail."

The blond blinked. "Why?"

"We're not sure, but Jose might have hired him."

"Then this guy is either really daring or is stupid beyond all measures. He'd need an army to take Makarov. And after my little stunt I doubt he'd really want to try anything. So this doesn't concern me."

"It does and he will because he has a pretty well-known group working with him. You've heard of Death's Head Caucus, haven't you? Well, this man works for them."

"Yes, I've heard of them. But that doesn't mean anything. I'd love to see them get the drop on me." Naruto removed a small flask and knocked it back. Sighing as he swished the contents around for a bit before swallowing it down, he said, "But that doesn't account for any of the others. Laxus would be hard to get taken down, along with some of the others. So you think this guy will come and try to take a shot at us?"

"We don't know for sure, but I'm only here to let you know that you need to keep an eye out. If this guy or any of their members make a move on Fairy Tail, you have clearance to use lethal force. You can tell Makarov. I'm pretty sure he'll want to know."

Naruto nodded mutely.

"Well then, I guess I'm off. I have more people to speak with and deliver jobs to. Please inform the council when you're ready to start taking jobs again. I really do like your business. You get good results."

"Thanks." The rich man smiled and left Naruto there in the forest to think things over. Ten minutes later Naruto had sought out Makarov and informed him of the potential threat. "I'll make more clones and keep them in the area and all over town in case this whacko shows up. I'm going to go on ahead and go get some rest. I'll be staying up just to make sure, alright?"

"Are you going to monitor everyone tonight?"

The blond just walked off after saying his goodbyes to everyone. Cana followed after him, deciding that her presence wasn't needed.

True to his word, during the night, Naruto stood watch over the guild and its members. There was no incident throughout the night either. Still, the entire thing did make him wonder. Why did this stink so much anyways? Sure Jose had a thing against them for his failed assault, but shouldn't he be in jail or something? All the evidence pointed to him being guilty, so how was he not in jail?

By the time morning rolled around and everyone was back at the guild to begin working again, Naruto dismissed his clones and said he was sleeping in. Cana alerted the others that they were staying home for the day, to which Makarov had grumbled and then complained about the lack of help later.

The next day was spent with Naruto working overtime on the guild and on his home to get it finished up. He didn't mind sleeping at Cana's place, but there was something about his place that made him feel perfectly safe. He couldn't explain it.

Of course Makarov was out for the day, which left Naruto working heavily to get everything finished up. They had managed to get the second floor put in, along with the roof, and walls, and were now in the process of putting down the floor. The basement was already in as well. The open-air café was nearing completion while Max had already finished getting the souvenir shop set up. He just needed to get the items in that they were going to sell and he'd be in business. The pool was already in place behind the bar and the basement had long since been finished. They just needed to set it up and it'd be done.

All they really lacked was the floor, furniture, and restock the entire kitchen. Not much long and they'd be back in full business mode. It was kind of nice.

Creating a hundred and fifty clones, the blond got to work putting the floor down with the others. After about seven hours they had the floor down. The walls were next on the list and just as easily knocked out in a matter of hours. At the end of the day they had the guild building near fully completed, lacking only the furniture and the restocking.

Instead of heading home most of the members stayed and just enjoyed the sunset. Naruto had once again found Alzack and Elfman and sat down next to them on the roof of the guild hall. Mirajane soon joined them after calling last shot. Cana arrived a moment later with Macao and Romeo in tow.

"Good view," Mirajane finally said. "Needs a deck up here and it'd be even better."

"We could always put one in," Cana joked. She knocked her flask back and then smiled. "I can't wait until we get this place fully restocked. I can't live off my flask alone."

"You drink too much as it is." Macao replied.

"She slowed down a long time ago because you told her too," Naruto informed him. "She had a thing for you in the past. Then I stepped into the limelight and stole her from you."

"Really?"

Cana finished her flask and then hurled it at her boyfriend, more or less confirming his words to be true. Upon seeing the brunette turn violent, Macao decided that a follow up question wasn't needed. Not that it really mattered in the end because Naruto saw Bisca leaving and tore Alzack out of his shirt-still sweaty from all the work they'd done-and promptly shoved him off the roof of the building. He fell down right in front the gun totting female.

"My bad!" Naruto screamed as he waved the captured clothing like a flag. "I got your shirt, cowboy!"

Alzack raised Kurama from behind his back and said, "I got Kurama!"

"I don't care! Take him home with ya!"

Alzack sat there on the ground holding Kurama by the scruff of his neck as realization finally kicked in for him.

He was sitting in front of Bisca, the girl of his dreams, without a shirt on.

He was covered in sweat.

Bisca had probably heard their entire conversation from the other day, as she hadn't approached him for strange reasons.

Bisca was staring at him, mouth agape.

Bisca had red cheeks.

Alzack went completely red in the face before he passed out from the shock of being seen in sweaty, smelly clothing, and without a shirt on. Bisca followed not a moment later.

Kurama wiggled out of his captures grasp and gave him a few pokes before doing the same to Bisca. They were out cold and completely flustered. There was no waking them up. **"They're out like lights. Humans and their hormones. I will never understand why you all have to pussyfoot around the thing. You see what you want; you take it and make it yours."**

Nab Lasaro and Laki Olietta walked out and agreed to take them home.

Now left on the ground, Kurama could only look up and sigh in frustration as he realized that getting back up on the roof would be a real pain in his ass. Still, he had an image to keep and thus began his climb straight up the wall towards his host.

While this was going down, Elfman had been going on about how manly the place was starting to look, to which Cana replied, "This place needed an overhaul anyways."

"Agreed," Mirajane offered. She scooted away from Naruto as he sighed and scratched his back. "Something wrong," she asked, doing her best to ignore the smell of the two men sitting next to her. Macao gave them a big smile.

"My shirt itches because I think I still have some of the sawdust from when Alzack threw the collected it and threw it at me for a comment or two I made." He reached down to pull his shirt off when Cana growled to get his attention. "What?"

"You take that off, I'm jumping you."

"I'll jump him too!" Mirajane announced, speaking very happy on the matter.

Cana pointed at her boyfriend and growled, "Mine," right in her face.

"I'm okay with a threesome!" Cana jumped to her feet and shoved her boyfriend right off the roof. Kurama watched his host fall after he had just gotten up on the roof. When Naruto hit the ground he laughed the entire thing off and stood up slowly while cracking his back. "Seriously… I'm okay with a threesome."

Cana tore her shoe off and hurled it down on him. It bounced harmlessly off his head, to which Cana immediately began shouting about as she wanted her shoe back. The Jinchuuriki picked up the shoe and laughed at her. Annoyed, she disappeared from his sight and then re-appeared holding Kurama over her head, ready to be thrown. Kurama blinked three times before he was chucked right off the side of the new guild headquarters, where he landed on his hosts' face, frightened and screaming for aid.

"Is that all you got?" Naruto taunted. Cana once more left his sight and with a few minor shouts, she returned hefting Elfman right over her person. Elfman looked very confused even as he fell from the roof of the guild to the ground where Naruto was. The blond sidestepped him and watched him splat against the stone ground with a thud. "I didn't figure her to be that strong."

"**She's mad," **his tenant explained. **"When angered or in danger, human females have access to unlimited strength. You're just dating one that's actually normally very strong. So it stands to reason that-Running would be a good idea right about now." **

Naruto looked up once more to see her heft Macao with Mirajane stepping back cowering in fear to the unusual strength and anger of her friend. If she threw him then she'd grab Mirajane next and when she threw her, all hell would break loose. Elfman would get angry, fight Cana, to which Naruto would have to step in and fight Elfman, and then a small battle would ensue, to which the new building would get damaged and cause Makarov to throw a tantrum. All of which would bring chaos down on Naruto's head and he really didn't want that. There was the fact that Cana had a key to his place and thus could hurt him in his sleep. Failing to stop this before it blew out of hand would mean he'd have Makarov coming down on him instead of just Cana.

Taking the wise words to heart, Naruto turned and booked it as fast as he could, ignoring the shout to stop from Gildarts' daughter. He ran all the way to the beach before stopping. He didn't see anything of Cana. He had ditched her.

"That was scary," Elfman proclaimed, having followed his friend to escape the certain doom that would be brought down on his head by the brunette. "Did you know Cana was that strong? I didn't."

His head between his legs, comically out of breath, he answered. "Yeah… It's a really an interesting thing with me. I'm attracted to women that can always easily kick my ass."

"**No. You're genetically altered to let hot women beat you up. That's how it works. Oh-and you didn't lose her, so you know."**

Naruto stood up fully; ready to argue against that when a solid mass collided with him from the side. He and the colliding object were knocked fully into the ocean. He went down, kept his mouth closed and his opened. He could take this easily.

He pushed one hand into the ground and used the other to capture the object that had smashed him into the water. Pushing up, he laughed and turned to have the object dunked back in to the water. He held it down only a second before letting it come back up. Cana gasped for air and stared wide eyed out at the sea. Naruto splashed her face to get her attention. She turned and tackled him right back into the water, shoving his head as far down as she could. With only minor ease he rose back up, surging against her near superhuman strength, and smiled at her.

"Now I'm all wet. I have to go get dried off now, less you jump me."

Cana backed up and looked down. His shirt clung to his body and his jeans seemed to have shrunk as a result of touching water. Cana tried not to look down when he started laughing. He cocked his head sideway just enough to have her face turn completely red.

"No panties," he noted. "Didn't take you for the commando type." She punched him with all her might. He barely moved an inch. "Well this was fun, Cana, but I'm heading home." He reached for his tenant but the little fox dove around him, not eager to get wet. His host just smiled and soon caught him for a dunk as he threw him into the water. Kurama splashed down and then ran for the shoreline soaking wet. "Now let's go home." He scooped him up and began walking home.

Cana watched him go as Mirajane showed up with two sets of towels. Cana didn't even register her presence until she had shoved her back in for the fun of it. Elfman stood completely confused as he saw his sister and her friend begin fighting in the ocean, playing more than anything. He was soon dragged in as well when both girls noticed that he was staring at them.

(-)

When Naruto had gotten home had had done his usual routine. He showered, threw his clothes in the laundry ben, and then began cooking himself something to eat. Kurama had decided that after he had been dunked he needed a bath, which had forced Naruto get the bathtub set up for him. How the small Bijuu was going to clean himself was beyond Naruto, but he really didn't care. He was too busy cooking when the thought had crossed his mind.

His clones had done an immaculate job in fixing the place and getting new things. The place had been near completely redone. He got a new table with chairs to match, bed with blue sheets that had orange flames in various hues that matched the pillowcases, curtains, and a new bookshelf with a desk and nightlight. To match this they repainted the walls as well. What were once bland, white walls were now blues and reds. One of the clones had been creative and took to drawing a starlit sky on the ceiling with something that made the starts twinkle just enough to seem like real stars. It wouldn't take getting used to because it was about the only ceiling he ever liked sleeping under. Seeing the stars at night was the perfect ceiling, even if said ceiling was beyond his grasp when he slept outside.

When Kurama finished with his bath, the two ate in relative silence, both happy to be sleeping back home again. Naruto went to his bed while Kurama went his den/hidey-hole. They said their goodnights and then went to sleep. Kurama dreamt of sleeping with a white vixen with nine-tails, killing his enemies, and then eating candy and drinking beer. Naruto didn't dream at all. If he had a dream he could never remember then unless it was the PTSD kicking in at night. Thankfully he had medicine for that and thus didn't have much of a problem.

Around eight in the morning the door was knocked on-hard. The blond grumbled inaudibly as he listened to the banging for another minute before getting up. It was way too early for him to be up after all the hours he put in at the guild. They had it finished with the exception of the restocking. Well they might need a cleanup and a few other things here and there, but restocking was the main thing they really needed, thus they didn't need him for anything short of an impending invasion.

Throwing the blankets off; he walked towards the door while rubbing his eyes. He was still sleepy and his vision was blurry. He got to the door and tore it open, grumbling as he continued to rub his eyes. "Hello," he billowed out. He was thirsty too.

"Nice image," someone said sarcastically.

Naruto opened one red veined eye to see Droy staring at him, occasionally looking down. Naruto blinked with his one uncovered eye before turning his gaze to Jet. It was then he looked down and spied Levi just staring straight ahead, her face turning redder and redder with each passing second.

Glancing down at his attire, he snorted and made a half laugh. He was still naked. That was a testament to how sleepy he was if he answered the door buck naked.

"What do you want?"

"For you to put some clothes on," Jet hissed.

Naruto chuckled lightly as he turned around and walked into his room. Kurama clawed his way up onto the table and watched his host shut the door. With the door to their home still open, Kurama turned his attention on Team Shadow Gear and said, **"You can come in."**

"Is he getting dressed," Levi asked carefully.

"**Yes, but not right now. He's masturbating while thinking of you, Levi." **The blue haired mage began trembling as her mind threatening to lock up. **"He's getting dressed right now. Get in here and close the door."**

The two males ushered the girl and sat her down in the chair in front of insane fox. It was only a couple of minutes later that Naruto walked out of his room wearing sweatpants and a white shirt. He scratched at his head as he went to the fridge, offering to get them something. They declined but smiled as he pulled out a jug of orange juice and sat down in front of them.

"So what are you doing here this early in the morning?" He began chugging the drink of choice.

"We're here to see if you'd like to team up with us." Levi explained quietly. She was still red in the face from seeing Naruto completely naked. "I need rent money and to pay for my injuries. I've almost got it all paid for, but I still need more money and in my condition I can't really fight if we get jumped during it."

"So you want me to come with you as some form of protection?" Naruto shared a quick glance with his tenant.

"**I smell ulterior motive."**

"No! I really want your help! Please! Pretty please! Pwease!" She begged while going teary eyed for added effect. Kurama turned away. He would fall prey to her evil look and cave in to her demands. Naruto, however, wouldn't be so easily corrupted. "I had an idea for your book!"

"I'm in. Let me get dressed."

"Aren't you dressed already?"

"**He means take a shower and masturbate while thinking about you." **A shoe flew from Naruto's room, knocking the fox off the table with a muttered, **"Damn it," **as Levi went red in the face before she passed out from her mind going overboard with Naruto naked again. Jet and Droy had to catch her when she fell backwards from the shock of it all. _**"Good day. Good day indeed." **_


	7. The Odd Job of Friends

I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

From the minds of the HumanWiki and Myevltwin.

Anything you read in this fic should not be recreated or taken serious. If you find this stuff offensive, do not read this fic. You have been warned.

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 7

"You tired yet?"

Naruto grabbed the next rock in the long line of rocks to be grabbed as he pulled himself up and reached for the next.

Levi's question had merit but like all the others in the guild, with the exception of a few, seemed to always forget he was a stamina freak. Cana, Mirajane, and any other woman he slept with would never forget that he could go a long time before finally kicking the bucket. Levi had neither slept with him nor worked with him like this in the past, so she had a valid reason to not know. Still, it was kind of annoying after the fourth time. This was nothing to him.

"I'm perfectly fine, Levi. Now finish going over your ideas."

Levi was thankful that her two teammates weren't here right now and that it was just her and Naruto for two very good reasons. The first was that she was wearing her orange dress for this. It was a hot day today. The cool air of their location did very little to help her in staying cool. Of course having only a dress on would have enabled anyone following up the path they had to go an excellent view of her backside. This brought her to her second reason for she was thankful, because no matter how much she liked them, she wouldn't give them a clean view of her panties for the world. Her two teammates were deemed too injured for this. Naruto only needed one of them and having a girl cling to him was a lot better than a guy. Plus, she had ideas for his book.

Naruto growled before she could go over them as he pulled one hand back.

This was his reason for not bringing along Droy and Jet via Kage Bunshin. Despite being as tough as he was, he still bled just like everyone else. With Droy and Jet still bandaged up, he knew he couldn't carry them with his clones. All it would take is a single cut or a puncture of any kind via rock or thorn and those clones would get destroyed, thus dropping the two. This could be solved by work of his teleportation ability, but he still didn't want to risk it while they climbed up the mountain.

Kurama had asked why he wanted to do it the old fashion way to which Naruto had stated that using his chakra to walk up the wall would shorten the trip and also not be as fun. This way he got to have Levi cling to him like he was her older brother or something. He also didn't need anyone else knowing that he could walk up solid objects. Sticking to them and walking on water was more than enough for the time being.

He flexed his hand and eyed the small prick that he'd gotten. He knew that it was already healed, but it was still annoying to know that a thorn could get through his skin the way it did. In fact, this whole job was annoying him just as much as the thorns and sharp rocks were.

The job was worth five hundred thousand jewels and on a time limit. The client was a young woman, one that had earned him a slap from Cana when she caught him checking her out, and was doing this for her grandfather. Her grandfather, like her father, had climbed this mountain to the very spot where a large tree grew that grew a very tasty fruit. The client wanted one of these pieces of fruit for her grandfather who was on his deathbed. As a small boy he had once climbed this mountain and tasted the fruit, and since then every summer he came up the mountain to have one. As time dragged on he could no longer make the climb, and thus had turned to his son for the fruit. He was hurt and thus couldn't make it anymore after coming down with cancer and having suffered stroke. Sadly, this climb could only be done by either high level mages like Erza, Laxus, and Naruto.

The fruit itself was rather tasty, or so the story went. When asked about why one had to climb to get it, the answer had been that the mountain was the only spot where the fruit could be grown. There was something about the mountain that enabled it to grow said fruit and no other place in the world could grow it. Were it not for the climb up this tree might be naked before they could arrive. The climb was the hardest part about it, which meant that only certain people could make it.

And the climb wasn't even the worst part about it.

"Well remember how you said that Stacy and Suzy were identical in appearance and that Suzy had once dated Den?" Naruto nodded as he looked up. He could see the darkened section coming into view. Another thirty minutes of climbing and they'd be at the final obstacle. "Well in the last book you explained why Suzy was a lesbian. It was because she was rapped when she was a small girl and that left her traumatized, which was why she broke up with Den. Den then turned to Stacy, a girl that looked exactly like Suzy. In the three books that these two have appeared, not once have you mentioned or hinted that they are sisters. You never made mention that they weren't sisters, which means they could be sisters."

"How did you come up with that? They're not sisters. They have no relation to each other."

"I've read your books. They were never mentioned or talk to each other. In fact, you have more of a reason to make it another personality that Stacy has. Suzy could be one of them, and her love for Den was why Stacy went to him. Suzy loved him so much that despite her trauma, she still yearned to be with him. This is why I say that you could have them either be sisters or another personality that Stacy has. It makes perfect sense. They're never in the same room at the same time. Yet they somehow know each other."

Naruto could practically see her tapping her chin in mock thinking. Shouldn't she be holding on for dear life? Naruto learned something very interesting from this whole trip. Naruto learned that despite having a small chest, Levi's breasts on his back were very nice and very soft. The person who claimed her for a wife would be very happy with her.

The other thing he learned was that Kurama had a God Complex. When he heard that they were climbing a mountain he had jumped at the chance to go up with them. With Jet and Droy on the ground, Kurama got his chance to once more watch the world and how the humans operated from a high point advantage. He had said he wanted to watch the ants scurry about beneath him just like he had when he had been at his full height. Every few minutes he would stick his head out of Levi's book bag and chuckle to himself. More than once Naruto had felt the touch of Kurama's mind as he would say, _**"You will bow to me one day, humans," **_while they climbed.

"I thought I put it in that they were friends from a long time ago," he argued.

"No. I've read your books eight times over. There is no mention of it. You could literally do this and make it work. In fact, you have more information stating that they're sisters because Den got them confused for the whole first book and then again in the second one for a few weeks after his head injury. Yet… these two females have never been in the same room at the same time."

"I… Shut up!"

Levi laughed. She had him there. Even if she had him, he was the author and could just say that she was a clone or something like that. The world bent to his will in the story he had created. That was the power that authors had.

The blond looked up and grinned as a rock ceiling had formed over them. He was happy to finally be here. Two hours of listening to Levi destroy everything he set up in the books were getting annoying. She knew everything about his book as she was his beta-reader. She made her own notes from reading the stories and her ideas destroyed things he had wanted to keep hidden. That didn't stop her from breaking them down.

"Hold on tight," he ordered, interrupting her as she destroyed yet another thing about Den. It was a real shame that she didn't know how bad he was about to get her.

He looked over his shoulder and eyed the large roots. It wouldn't take him a long time to cross this. The only problem was Levi. She could easily let go and fall to her death. Strapped in or not, she could still find some way to hurt herself.

Without waiting for her to say anything he jumped and clung to the nearest root. It wobbled and Levi screamed in terror. Kurama soon joined if only to get his host in trouble. Ignoring them both he began crossing the roots like it was a set of monkey bars on a playground and got to the other side. He turned his person around and then began climbing straight up again. For added effect in scaring her he gripped one of the rocks hard and yanked it down, mock falling a good meter before coming to a stop. Levi screamed even louder and started whimpering.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. "Didn't know that rock was loose."

She stopped screaming, got control of her breathing, and then just glared at him. Naruto laughed and continued his climb. Levi seemed to have known that he did it as a way of getting revenge on her so she clammed up after that, talking only about other things besides the books. They had covered everything that needed to really be covered for her ideas.

It was another ten minutes before they reached the top. Nature had decided to not care about anything as green grass grew to his hip. A single, large tree that stood fifty meters high in the very center of the entire mountain side, almost like it was just there to defy everything. It was near completely covered by another layer of rock that looked to turn into a cave and take away the sunlight needed for its survival. This was proof to Naruto that life would always find a way.

"There-" Levi pointed, "That's it right there."

The blond glanced up and spied what she was pointing at. It was a piece of fruit the size of a grapefruit, maybe even a bit bigger. It dangled from one of the thicker branches were a dozen more resting.

"I'll get it."

Naruto jumped straight up and clung to the first branch that he came to. He pulled himself up and then began climbing towards the top where the fruit was. He looked like a cat with the way he climbed up. He balanced himself perfectly on the largest branch and walked straight out towards the nearest fruit. He dropped down to his backside and then leaned back so he was hanging by his knees. He snagged one of the fruits and then three more. No point in coming up and just the old man one.

He swung and freed himself from the tree, dropping all the way to the ground. He hit hard but didn't show anything for it. Taking out a large bag from somewhere on his person, he slipped them in and said, "Kurama, make sure these don't fall out and don't eat any of them," before snapping it closed and sealing it away, which he then placed inside the bag.

"Why'd you get four of them?"

"One for me, one for you, one for Cana, and the last for the old guy," he answered as he scooped her up bridal style. He strapped her back in, though, this time keeping her up front. Confusion was evident on her face as Naruto walked towards the edge and looked down. A fine cloud of fog had rolled in and would block his view on the way down. "Hold on tight," he ordered.

Levi nodded and opened her mouth to speak when a feeling of weightlessness hit her. Naruto had jumped off the edge of a six thousand foot height and was going to plummet towards their respected deaths. No one survived these types of heights.

Before he even fell twenty feet he covered his free arm in chakra and placed it against the wall. Levi had wrapped one arm around Naruto's neck as she screamed for dear life; the other was holding her book bag close to her chest. Naruto could hear Kurama gasping for air as she was in the process of strangling him.

When they came to the dead-end where they had to climb through the roots Naruto simply swung out and then forward, timing it right so that he swung forward when he hit the edge and let go to free-fall in the direction of the cliff-face. He turned and his back took the hit to shield Levi. She screamed even louder after her head bounced off his chest.

Naruto righted himself and put his chakra covered hand and feet so that as they fell he could control the speed in which they fell. No point in landing down from a height this hard. He might survive, but Levi wouldn't. To keep that from happening he began slowing down as they passed through the fog. The ground began to creep up fast and Naruto forced more chakra into his limbs to cling to the rocks. Levi screamed even louder when they finally hit the ground. She wiggled out of Naruto's hold and fell to her backside in fright.

"Levi! What happened?" Jet and Droy appeared.

Kurama fell out of her bag and started licking the ground, trying to hug it, and just whimpering.

"You jerk!" She jumped straight up and started pounding on Naruto's chest. He laughed at her attempts to hurt him. She must have realized that it was futile. She stopped and sniffed to dry her tears.

"**I'm never leaving you again! I was so scared! Naruto! How could you?!"**

That threw Levi back into her furious fit and she went back to pounding on his chest. Her tiny fists did nothing and she knew it, but that didn't stop her. Kurama continued to cry for the four to hear him, but Naruto was gifted with his laughter in his head. He was enjoying this a bit too much.

"Levi, I'm sorry, okay? I just figured that if we got back in time we could get your bills taken care of and then get you home. Besides, you have to admit it was fun."

She blushed and then stood back, her arms crossed over her chest. Naruto gulped. He knew that look.

"I want a new copy of your books, all signed, and in new condition." The blond laughed at her. "Or I'll tell Cana about what you did. She'll get angry at you and demand you do it in front of the others. What's it going to be? The worst that Cana can do is threaten you with withholding sex."

"She knows that if she doesn't pet me every once in a while it'll be hard to keep me under the porch. So that threat isn't going to work because she's addicted to me. She can't live without me."

"You wanna bet on that?"

"I'll take that bet."

(-)

"Here are your fucking books."

Levi screamed and jumped for joy, somehow overpowering the joys of laughter from the rest of the guild as they laughed at Naruto for his situation.

Naruto had lost the bet. Cana wasn't going to threaten him by withholding sex. She wasn't that crazy. She couldn't have lasted two days without him when he was here. Just seeing him made her wanna jump him. So she did the next best thing: she beat him up. She slapped, kicked, and punched him into submission. The members present laughed through the whole thing as Naruto was beaten by his girlfriend for nearly killing Levi, as her story went, and also admitting that he wouldn't stay under the "porch" if she didn't pet him every once in a while.

"**It was horrible!" **Kurama continued, whimpering in Mirajane's arms.

She seemed to be pleased if anything. Her smile never left her face. It wasn't the creepy, dangerous, I'm-going-to-kick-your-ass smile from several years ago. Naruto was thankful for that.

"There, there, Kurama. Everything is all better now."

"**You promise?" **He sniffed like he was actually crying. He was to them.

"Of course. Would I ever lie to you?"

The silence she got was him thinking. He shrugged and said, **"If you did lie to me, I wouldn't know unless I could prove it and I haven't had to do that yet."**

"What are you crying about?" Naruto inquired. "You got to have you face crammed into Levi's breasts for the whole way back as she hugged you to death."

"**What breasts are you talking about? She's as flat as a-"**

And just like that, Kurama hit the ground with a loud thud. His head banged off the bar as he sailed for the ground where he had struck. Awe struck and completely dazed by the blow, he wobbled as he got to his feet, shook his head, and then stumbled for the closest chair so he could jump back onto the bar. The entire guild hall had gone utterly silent after he'd been magically knocked out of Mirajane's arms. There was no way she'd hit him.

"It's not my fault my chest is flat!"

Kurama looked up and found a pair of very angry eyes on him. The desire to run and hide was overwhelming, but the desire to shrink before her eyes was almost overpowering. Levi hadn't liked the comment about her flat chest and took it out on him, obviously. He just stared at her, a small cut the only show for her overpowering punch of ungodly female strength when angered. Levi was red in the face with anger as she continued to stare him down. Kurama jumped up into the chair and got back on the bar so that he was at eye-level with her.

"**You're right," **he said quietly. **"It's not your fault entirely that you have small breasts. You're parents are obviously to blame… midget." **Kurama sailed forward, banging his head off the doorframe to the guild headquarters before he hit the streets outside. **"What the hell was that for?!"**

Mirajane looked over and spied Naruto with his hands in his pockets and trying to look naturally shocked. He couldn't pull it off. And the only reason they knew he did it was because of the fading white eyes that marked the use of his Doujutsu.

"Stop picking on Levi. I'm sure she'll get breasts eventually."

"That you're going to check out," Cana added.

"Of course." Cana hit him upside the head. "It's not nice to make fun of how tall or short someone is, Kurama. You don't like it when people call you short. Why do you think Levi didn't like you making fun of her breasts? I certainly didn't like you making fun of how short she is. Levi is perfect the way she is."

The blue haired girl nodded happily to that.

"**Because the guy who gets her isn't going have to make her get on her knees. That's about the only reason **_**you **_**like how short she is."**

Levi whipped around and ran after the little fox. He yelped in fear and took off running around the guild hall as the angry blue haired female chased after him. Naruto sighed and whimpered as Cana patted him on the back.

Desiring peace and quiet, the blond snatched up his tenant and tied his legs up. The fox whimpered as Levi closed in on them. Instead of handing him over for his much deserved thrashing, Naruto walked right up to Erza and thrust him into her chest. She didn't even bother asking. She just held him and started petting him.

Kurama freaked and began doing everything in his power-to their knowledge anyways-to escape his _tormentor_.

"His fur really is soft," Erza said peacefully. A chance to pet him was something she always wanted. Too bad the little guy seemed to hate every minute of it. Kurama thrashed about in her arms as she continued to pet, scratch, and pat him. "Why do you hate me so much? I've never done anything to you."

"**Get this she-devil off me!"**

Naruto began ignoring him as Erza continued to pet him. Whatever had happened from one week ago with Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Lucy had made him curious since they came back with a few new bumps and bruises. Plus, Natsu was sick as a dog and didn't want to eat anything. Even fire. That was enough to have him curious.

Natsu being sick was one thing, but the fact that Makarov had been quite insistent on Naruto being out for jobs with wounded members was rather startling. He had never requested that he do this in the past. So why now?

Poking Natsu in the side, he got nothing from him and moved over towards where Elfman was. He was busy looking at the mission board. His eyes were glued to a job about rooting out some low level thugs that had taken a warehouse and the owners wanted them out so business could resume. The main guy in charge was a higher end thug, but he was still pretty low on the totem pole as far as thugs went.

"Want some help?"

Elfman nodded eagerly. "If you want to."

Cana grabbed her boyfriend up and pulled him into a headlock. "I'm going with you guys. I'm not letting you out of my sight for five seconds."

"Why are you tagging along? This is male bounding time. Why should we take you with us?"

Cana grabbed the document in question and tapping the client. It was a female. Naruto laughed nervously. He truly hadn't been paying attention to the client; only the mission.

"I'm sure she's not that good looking."

She rolled her eyes and thrust the document in the counter where Mirajane was waiting for them. She stamped it, logged it, and sent them off with a smile. Cana took it from her and then they moved to head out.

"Hold on." Naruto walked over to Erza as she continued to pet the screaming fox. He snatched him up, much to her displeasure, and untied him. "Did you learn you lesson?"

"**I will never be a bad fox again! I swear it!" **

"If he gets in trouble, do I get to pet him again?" Erza asked.

"Of course. If you want, you can take a bath with him next time. I sure he'll need one when we get back. Pretty sure he'll forget all about this and then do something else stupid."

"**The only way I'd take a bath with this female will only be to figure out if the curtains match the drapes." **The small Bijuu turned his head and looked at the curious blinking redhead. **"Do they match?"**

"Does what match?"

"**Do you have red hair on your magical workshop?"**

"Magical workshop," Naruto repeated, horrified at the use of a new sex term. "Why can't you just say vagina? Is that hard? And don't start with the odd sex terms again. I'm not going through this again."

"**It'll catch."**

"No it won't."

"Magical workshop, huh?" Makarov repeated, rubbing his chin. "I like it. I'm going to start using that from now on, Kurama. Good call."

"You condescending bastard, you're doing that on purpose. Stop agreeing with him!" Naruto flung the fox into Cana's arms. "Let's get going before I have to fight the entire guild because of something you say, stupid fox."

"**Erza, do you shave your magical workshop?"**

Cana clamped a hand over his muzzle and walked out as the redhead began to blush profusely. They really didn't need to know about that.

The two shoved Naruto out the doors and were soon gone from sight. The entire guild heaved a sigh of relief. It was at that moment that a tall, muscular young man with long, spiky black hair that was slicked back. He had red eyes with slitted dark pupils with no eyebrows, wearing shabby, black, sleeveless tunic with studded edges, a matching belt around his waist, loose, whitish pants tucked inside his studded black boots, and a pair of studded brown cloves paired with a similarly studded wristbands.

"Why did you guys shove me out of the building?"

This was Gajeel Redfox, and the one and only reason for why Makarov had been so demanding that Naruto take missions. It hadn't been that hard for Erza, Gray, Lucy, and Natsu to get along with him after they had returned from their trip. Levi had been another story. She had almost ran to the person they were trying to hide him from.

Makarov believed that if Naruto learned that the person who managed to not only destroy the guild headquarters, but also injury Team Shadow Gear had joined their guild, he might just kill him. That wasn't something Makarov wanted. He truly did desire a chance for peace with the blond. Naruto had done nothing but fight battles since he was born as far the stories went, and he didn't want him fighting anymore. The fact that he was a personal killer for the Magic Council was enough to make him want to kick him out, but Naruto had nowhere else to go, and it was for a good cause. Fewer crimes were committed from big named people and Dark Guild activities had dropped thirty percent just because of what he was being paid to do. Not to mention that they were able to weaken the effects of his PTSD.

Still, if Naruto did find out that Gajeel Redfox had joined them, he might honestly kill him. That was something Makarov really didn't want to deal with. He wondered, though, on how Naruto might take to Juvia Lockser seeing as how she only captured Lucy once through no real violent method. Sure she might have drowned, but Juvia didn't seem like the type to let such a thing really happen. She was too skilled in her magic to let something like that really happen.

"For your safety," Makarov finally answered. "We can't have Naruto finding out you're here since you're the one who hurt Levi." He thumb-jabbed in the direction of said girl. She was smiled from ear to ear, resting happily with the knowledge that when the time came for the two to finally meet, she would have Gajeel literally by the balls. He stepped out of line she could just say something to her ever watchful protector about it and he'd jump him. "If he finds out before we can have him simmer down about the whole thing, he might kill you. Not to say that the others don't harbor such feelings, but with Naruto's it's a bit different. He actually is a man that **will **keep his words on a threat like that."

"Who's Naruto?"

"You remember the guy with blond and was glowing," Wakaba asked.

"He seemed more like he was on fire," Bisca corrected.

"Whatever! Do you remember him? He was the glowing one that was tearing your former guild apart. Kind of hard to miss a glowing person with blond hair tearing that entire thing apart by himself with his bare hands. Not to mention with how fast he was moving."

"Jose never said he was a real threat since he didn't really take high end jobs. I mean he does take S-Rank missions and is a n S-Rank mage himself, but the jobs he takes…"

_If only you knew the jobs he takes, then Jose wouldn't have been so stupid and attacked us. He's lucky to have just survived an encounter with Naruto being like that, _Makarov thought.

"I think I could take him," Gajeel admitted confidently.

Makarov busted up laughing, spilling his beer and soon falling off the counter. When he righted himself, the entire guild had stopped laughing. "I would pay to see the ass kicking he'd give you. Naruto may not look like it, but everyone present can tell you he's the second strongest member in the guild if only because he doesn't want to be first. He could probably very easily take first if he put in the effort. Steer clear of him until we've worked him over. Juvia might not have an issue with him, but that doesn't mean she doesn't need to either."

"Which is why I'm tasked with taking her out on jobs," Gray grumbled. Said girl was right beside him, smiling happily. Honestly, he could go without the chipper attitude right now. He was babysitting her.

"Juvia thinks that he might kill Gajeel as well," the blue haired rookie said.

Gray truly thought she was a bit weird, what with her speaking in third person. Then again, Fairy Tail did seem to attract strange members so he wasn't put off by it. It was a normal thing.

Juvia wore a blue and white dress that ended just at the knees, leaving her shoulders bade and her arms covered by matching blue and white gloves that ended at her bicep. Blue and white knee-high boots covered her legs and her once long, blue hair was now cut short, ending just a tad below her neck. She wore a small light blue jewel with the Fairy Tail stamp on it on the front of her shirt.

Gray cared very little for the change, even if he missed the loving expression she was shooting him. He was either blind or just not interested.

"Well, Juvia, you should know that while he might think more of you than he will Gajeel, Naruto isn't someone to mess around with. No doubt he's already found out about your part as well, so I'd steer clear of him just to be safe. If you do happen to meet him, just flash him and you should be okay. He's a sucker for any female with nice breasts."

"Juvia will keep that in mind." She slid her arm through Gray's and pointed towards the door. "Shall we be going?"

Gray grumbled something that no one caught and ventured out. He needed the money anyways.

Seeing them leave, Makarov turned to Erza, as she was one of the only few people to actually want Gajeel to meet Naruto. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't trust this man. He attacked them, destroyed their guild headquarters, and hurt Levi. That alone warranted a chance encounter with the blond.

"You and Gajeel will be taking a few jobs to keep him out of Naruto's sights. No doubt he'll figure out something's going on because of Kurama's heightened sense of smell, but I'd like to keep him hidden as long as possible. So scram and don't break anything."

Erza grabbed up the Dragon Slayer and hauled him. He didn't even protest.

(-)

Kurama crawled up over their cover and spied the warehouse in question for the job. It was old and rickety. It looked like a good gust and it'd fall over. Naruto knew some relatively weak Fuuton to do the job. He could easily knock it over with something as minor as a Tatsu no Oshigoto. That was a small one, right?

Orders had been very clear. The facility needed to have no damage done to it. They wanted it still standing and nothing destroyed. That was the real kicker in this stupid job. The place had to be left standing. Kurama wanted nothing more than to see if fall and proclaim to the world that he destroyed it. He missed the old days where people knew that if something got destroyed chances were high that he caused it.

"How does it look?" Naruto crawled up next to his tenant and looked at the facility.

"**Can't tell from right here. I suggest we go in, no recon, and just kick their asses."**

"As fun as that sounds, these guys aren't up for that." The small fox rolled his eyes. All great fighters needed cannon fodder. They qualified for that, right? "I'll go scout it out. I already told Cana and Elfman I would. So sit tight and make sure they don't do something stupid. This is dangerous if the first set of guards we had to deal with is anything to go by."

Kurama grumbled something and went to where the two other members were. They were busy talking to the only conscious member from that little stunt. Elfman sure as hell wasn't cut out for sneaking around. What was he going to do during this; plow his way through them all and hope to hell he didn't get shot? These guys used guns that shot live rounds. Not a pleasant thing to go up against.

"**Has the prisoner said anything?"**

"Aside from the occasional insult? No. He hasn't said anything short of what he wants to do to me in bed or how his boss is going to kill us." Cana examined her nails. She chipped one of them in the scuffle. "Why are we doing this again? I mean the job, not letting Naruto go out and do this for us? Why does he want to do a reconnaissance on the facility before we go in? The client already told us their numbers. Unless Naruto wasn't paying attention and staring at her flat chest."

"I bet he wasn't paying attention. He is very unmanly at times."

"**Normally I'd agree with you both on that, but she got part of it wrong." **Kurama chomped down on the man in questions' hand, electing a high pitched squeal of pain. **"She didn't know they had armed guards standing watch over the place and she didn't know that they were armed with guns. That's kind of something worth mentioning instead of just saying, "They have twenty members and are armed with swords and spears," as she laughs and thanks us for what we're doing. By the way, this," **he grabbed the small gun and waved it around, **"looks nothing like a sword or spear. Or I'm way behind the times."**

"How does this little fox talk? I've never seen a tal-"

The man screamed as Kurama latched onto his face and began his usual routine when his size came up.

Cana pulled him off and had to hold him as he clawed and snapped at the air, eager to get back on the mans' face for his words. "While I would normally be laughing at that, we need to be silent. Naruto said to keep our voices down so they can't hear us."

"Did he really?" The man asked, eyes blinking through the blood and tears.

"**I also seem to recall him saying that if he made any noises or moved, I got to eat him."**

"Strange, I remember that too." Elfman gave a shrug. It would be manly if Kurama could eat a whole person… or strange. One of the two. "So keep silent and you might get out of this without broken bones."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"**Makes me feel better. I'm hungry."**

The prisoner gulped in fear and began to wiggle in his restraints. He didn't want to die.

Naruto returned and plopped down beside his friends. Kurama ran up into his lap and looked at the others with glee. Cana seriously hated that he was sitting in his lap. Only she could do that, damn it!

"Alright, the rest of the information was spot on. They only have about twenty guys in there. They only have swords and spears. Elfman, you kick in the front door after fifteen seconds when I get to the roof. Cana, you're all clear for the rear entrance. Head there and when you hear a lot of commotion going on inside, kick the door in and come in swinging. I'll be up in the rafters dealing with them as best I can. I'm not going to hold your hands through this."

"That's manly of you."

"And what if shit hits the fan and we need help?"

"Then I'll help you out, but I know how strong you all are so these guys won't be a problem for you. Now let's move out. I'm getting hungry."

"How about a bet then?" Cana asked. "Whoever loses in dealing with the most people has to pay for lunch."

"You realize that'll be between you two only, right?" The giant of a man and the card user both glanced at each other and then turned their sights on their leader. "Fine, I'll help. If I can take out eight of them, I declare myself good. If you guys take out more than me by any means, I'll pay for lunch. However, if I get eight of them before any of you can, the loser has to pay for lunch. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Alright, let's go bust some heads in." Naruto knocked out the prisoner before they went to the facility. Cana had immediately done her thing of running to the back entrance. A hidden clone told him when she was in position. "See you on the other side, Elfman."

He vanished and in a split second was on the roof and back on the rafters. Fifteen seconds was an ungodly amount of time for him to get in position. He could have just said one second and he'd be good. The advantage of the Haraishin no Jutsu was his ultimate kicker. And he could remove the spot where he put the seal as soon as he appeared which he did.

Stepping lightly, he positioned himself over the largest group of them and waited. Kurama appeared a moment later, his nine tails wagging happily at the amount of ass kicking they were fixing to do. Either that or he was fantasizing about being an almighty force that couldn't be stopped through the use of Naruto. If that was the case, Kurama needed to have his head checked more than the blond did. The very idea of that was very amusing.

Fifteen seconds ticked by and the door was blown off. The men turned to face the threat. Naruto dropped down, grabbed eight of them up with the use of a few clones, and dashed away to punch them into an unconscious state. The eight captured men were so dazed that it was more of a joke for him to punch them out. They raised their weapons sluggishly, had them knocked from their hands, and then were beaten in a one two combo. The eight fell and didn't get back up.

The fighting in the other part of the facility ended and Naruto stepped out while one of his clones detained his prisoners.

Elfman had beaten down seven of them since most of them had tried to muscle him down. Cana had managed to clean up the remaining three. Only one was still conscious but that was remedied when a sexist remark was thrown. Cana punched the man with enough force that Naruto and Elfman both didn't know if they were shocked by her anger towards the comment or that her punch had a loud echo followed closely by the sound of a bone breaking.

"I win, so Cana has to pay for lunch," Naruto declared as he thumb-jabbed in the direction of the downed men behind him. Cana huffed and crossed her arms under her chest. "Fair is fair. I won so pay up."

"You had me go around to the back and come in when things got dicey. Not really far in my opinion."

"Loses can't be choosers."

"If you did it for my own protection, I'd understand. But I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"She is very manly." A flask to the head had him grinning apologetically.

"You're not getting out of this, Cana. You made the bet. You lost. So you have to pay for our meals." Her look of defiance didn't chance. Naruto grinned. "Ten. That's as low as I'll go."

"Five."

"No. Ten or you're paying for lunch. Don't drag this out. Ten or pay for lunch. You're choice."

"All the way down."

Naruto was silent. The offer was very tempting, but just for five wasn't enough. Kurama could see the wheels in his hosts' head turning. "Nine," he finally offered.

"Six."

"Eight."

"Seven?"

"Deal. I'm paying for lunch now. Let's turn these guys in and get out of here. I'm starving."

A few clones and the men were each hefted by one and dragged out. Kurama jumped ship and deposited himself on Elfman's shoulders. He looked really confused. He turned his head slowly as he let the others get ahead of him. "What did they mean by that? Why is Naruto paying for his meal now if he won the bet?" Kurama pushed his tongue inside his cheek and repeated the motion. Elfman just blinked and then laughed nervously. "And what was that about all the way to the bottom?"

"**Are you an idiot?" **Elfman looked hurt. **"If you can't figure it out, you're one of the only men I've ever seen that isn't afraid of what they've got or just don't care. Either that or you're just an idiot."**

"I could always throw you off my shoulder."

The small fox said nothing, but the look he was shooting him promised intense pain should he even attempt such a thing.

(-)

There very idea of Mirajane being able to hide this from anyone was not possible. She didn't like it. It made her feel unclean. Everyone had their respected skeletons in their closets. Who was she to deny them their secrets when she had her own? But there were some secrets that shouldn't remain secret. This wouldn't remain a secret for long.

When Makarov had told her about Gajeel and Juvia joining, she had been appalled by the very idea of it. Just thinking about it had made her sick and angry. A piece of her old self had returned for a moment. Makarov had noted it. He had pleaded with her to not tell Naruto, to which she had told him that he wouldn't be the real object of Gajeel's fear. Makarov's response to this had been that she didn't know the full abilities of Naruto, and that Naruto wasn't someone that could take this lying down in any shape or form. He would, without a doubt, strike Gajeel down without a second thought.

That statement carried a duel meaning for her. She had dated Naruto, knew he had secrets that he wouldn't share, like why they never moved in together. They dated long enough for it to happen and when she brought it up, nothing came of it. Naruto had dismissed it or moved around the subject in his own subtle way. She couldn't understand why he wouldn't want to do it, but he just never did. It irked her a bit to know that he was thinking about doing it with Cana, though. What did Cana honestly have that she didn't?

But the other thing about the comment had been not what she had heard, but what she had started to piece together. His strange power that he used during his fight with Jose was proof of something that lingered from within. Before she had been grabbed Naruto had displayed amazing powers that she had never once seen him use before. While most mages could only use one or two different types of magic, it all circulated around a singular type, like Natsu and his fire. He had different forms for it, but it was all the same. Naruto, however, was able to utilize more than just one. He had shown three to the best of her knowledge in elemental form and a fourth with the cloning ability he had.

The real kicker had been that glowing form he took right after she had been captured. She hadn't missed that. No one had. He started glowing right after she was captured. That meant that something in his past had been so traumatizing that it plagued him even now. For such an imprint to be left was a big thing. If Naruto had suffered something so severe in his past that it haunted him in his present, it had to be the loss of life or something closer to it. He had been so filled with rage when he learned why this had all taken place that he had nearly left to go finish the job.

So if Naruto was a bigger threat than she was to Gajeel, why did they have to hide him? Wouldn't that just make the situation worse in the long run? They couldn't hide this forever. Naruto would find out eventually, and all hell might be brought down around them for keeping this from him if what Makarov said was true.

She went back to cleaning her cups and preparing food for the next rush of customers.

An hour later brought in Cana, Elfman, and Naruto. Naruto looked rather pleased about something, but she didn't bother asking. Her focus was turned to Cana as the young woman sighed heavily and plopped down next to her behind the bar.

"Wanna talk about it?" Cana laughed and shook her head as her boyfriend was dragged off by Bisca and Alzack for another job. When asked, Mira said, "The job is the build a bridge in the middle of the park," to which she had arched a brow at. They could have found a better job for that as far as she was concerned. "So any ideas on when you two are moving in with each other?"

Cana put her head against the countertop and sighed heavily. "Look," she said more to herself, "I know that Naruto broke up with you shortly after Lisanna died. I know you wanted him to live with you. I know that you care very deeply about him. I also know that I'm going to be moving in with him in a couple of days and that you probably aren't too happy about that. That being said, you have every right to be angry with me and never want to talk to me."

"I'm never going to hold that or anything remotely like that against you, Cana. I'm happy for you. I really am. Naruto and I… we weren't going to work. He has too many secrets and I'm just too open at times. I'm more concerned about what he might he do to Gajeel." Cana muttered something under her breath. "I'm not too sure if Levi's afraid of him or not, but she's been acting a little weird since we told her that she had to keep this a secret. You think she's planning something?"

"Naruto takes to protecting her very serious, just as he does with all of us. He looked after Lisanna, Gray, Levi, Jet, Droy, and Natsu. Once he finds out that he joined, Naruto's probably going to be pissed. If anything, I can see Levi being the only voice of reason he'll listen to."

"That means that she'll have Gajeel by the balls for a while." The two females shared a similar expression and busted up laughing.

Levi was a cute and innocent person. She did no wrong and very seldom got in trouble for anything serious. Her last offense had been a couple a few months ago and it had been over a small document that needed to be forged to get through customs or something. She got in trouble for it, but it had been for a good cause. The idea that she would turn devious was a little hard to imagine, but so funny regardless.

"How long is Natsu going to be out like that?" Cana pointed in the direction of said teen as he finally lost whatever else was still in his stomach all over the counter. Mirajane whined pitifully as she didn't want to clear that up. "Why isn't he at home resting? What if it's contagious?"

"Like pregnancy?" Cana started laughing again. "You know his books are rather good read, if not for the sex than the humor. How does one catch pregnancy from another that doesn't have sex with anyone? Did he explain that or no?"

"He doesn't talk to me about story ideas. But I do remember that being a joke he tried to make me understand. I didn't understand it 'till I read it." The two fell in to an awkward silence before it was broken by Lucy trying and failing to drag the unconscious pink haired teen away. "I should go help her." Cana didn't wait for anything as she strolled up to the busty blonde and grabbed the drooling boy. "Taking him home?"

"Yeah. He's heavier than he looks."

"I'll help you." She tossed the teen over her shoulder. Happy landed on his friends' back a moment later. "I need some air anyways. Could do me some good."

Lucy just smiled nervously as they began their trip to Natsu's house. She truly didn't know what to expect from his home or where he lived.

(-)

It was hours later that Naruto and Cana met back up again. When the guild was in the process of shutting down, Naruto and Cana had decided to turn in at his place. Dinner had been quick and to the point before sex ensued. Two rounds later and Cana was exhausted. Hefting Natsu all the way to his place and then helping Lucy clean it up had taken a lot out of her, and eating just before sex didn't sit well with her. She got a little sick feeling. Nothing major.

"I like this bed," she finally said. "Feel nice, comfy, and it's big. Really big."

"Yeah," he replied in a loose tone. His arm that was wrapped around her waist twitched and he glanced at her. "So when do you wanna start?"

She sighed. "I'm not having this conversation again. I told you; I wanna start moving in tomorrow. What's so wrong about this, Naruto? Are you afraid of something? Does the thought of me moving in with you make you feel tied down? You were already tied down the moment you started dating me. That's how relationships work. You find the fish you want and you go for it. You capture it, like you captured me, and then live with the choice until you decide that it wasn't worth and throw me back in the water. You don't just keep fishing after you catch the big one."

"Actually you do, in terms of fishing anyways." She punched him. He laughed. He turned serious. "What's the point in moving in with me? Does it make you feel normal if we do it? If that's what this is about, you don't have anything to worry about. You're normal enough as it is. Our relationship is perfectly normal."

"But I want to move in and you do too. You were the one that started this conversation. You talked to me about it before you left for the S-Rank mission and then when you get back all you do is worry about it? Why are you worrying about it now? I've stayed enough nights over here to know how you are. Sure you're boxers have brown stains in the center, but most guys have that same thing on their underwear." Naruto put his head deeper into the pillow. "You keep the door open when you go to the bathroom, whether standing or sitting. You're not a neat freak. I'm not a neat freak. I don't think you can surprise me."

_It's not that I'm afraid of my own flaws, damn it. It's my PTSD. _Naruto bit back any retort he might have had about surprising her. She didn't know he had PTSD. She didn't need to know. But what would happen if he had an incident and she got hurt? He'd never forgive himself. _I have to get that under control. _"Have you figured out what you're bringing over? I don't have room for your bed."

"I like this bed. We're selling my bed. Lucy might buy it. I'll sell it to her cheap because I'm nice like that."

"**I like this bed too." **The two glanced over where Kurama had made a small nest in the sheets. He had laid there the entire hour and half of sex they had and not once did he move. Testament to the bed makers or they really hadn't been as wild as they thought they had. **"It's comfy. I can sleep on it while you mate. And it's huge." **Naruto palmed the bed from where he was. Kurama didn't even move. **"See? I didn't move. You can probably stand up and start jump-fucking her or something and I wouldn't feel it. Start jumping up and down, Cana. See if I feel it. I'd rather not have Naruto jump up and down on this bed while he's naked. Breasts are so much easier to look at than a dick flopping around."**

"I'll pass." Cana rolled over onto her boyfriend but kept her eyes on the small fox. "We need to get him a female fox."

"**A vixen? I'm game. Let's go get one! I'm very lonely. Has to be white though. I will only take a white one."**

"So you're a momma's boy?" Naruto inquired, laughing lightly. His tenant rolled his eyes. "I had no idea you were in to the Goddess of all Kitsunes, Inari. Very interesting, Kurama."

"**Hell yeah I'm a momma's boy. I fucked my own mother, remember? Good times. I miss her."**

"And just like that, you've lost me." Naruto began laughing loudly to this as Cana looked at him in confusion. "I seriously have no idea what you're talking about. Please explain."

Reining his laughter under control, Naruto said, "Inari is the mother of all Kitsune. Depending on what belief you have in her, she can either be a young female food goddess, an old man carrying rice, and an androgynous bodhisattva. No one view is correct. The preferred gender of depiction varies according to region traditions and individual beliefs. Because of his/her close association with Kitsunes, Inari is often believed to be one. Kurama just happens to believe that she is the Goddess of all Kitsunes, and I happen to like the idea as well. He says that her fur is white and soft as snow. Her voice is quiet and as gentle as the wind on a summer night."

Cana gave the small fox a longing look. Kurama's ears perked up and his muzzle left the nest he'd made. He looked intrigued by her actions.

"I think I know a place to go. We'll get you a mate, Kurama."

"**Really?" **He stood up, his tails waving around happily.

"Of course. Just don't expect her to talk in our language. You're the first talking fox I've ever laid eyes on."

"**I'm special."**

"I've noticed." She reached out and scratched his ears when he got closer to them. She pulled him close and sat him beside his host. The two shared a quick look and then laughed. "You never let him sleep up here, do you?"

"Not really. He farts."

"**Do not."**

"Let's go to bed. I'm tired. Plus I have to start moving in tomorrow. And we have to go help Kurama pick out a vixen so he's not lonely anymore."

"**My mate will be silent, like how all women are meant to be. Seen and not heard." **Cana slapped Kurama off the bed where he hit with a thud. **"I guess I deserved that."**

"Good night." Naruto shut his eyes and tried to put everything else out of his mind. He was tired and wanted to sleep. He'd have a busy day tomorrow, though, somewhere deep in his inner mind, he felt like he was going to be annoyed and possibly even very angry.


	8. Dangerous Secrets

I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

From the minds of the HumanWiki and Myevltwin.

Anything you read in this fic should not be recreated or taken serious. If you find this stuff offensive, do not read this fic. You have been warned.

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 8

Naruto's right eye twitched in anger.

He was pissed. He was violent. He'd already smashed everyone that had decided to come forth and admit their mistake on the matter personally. On one side of him was a pile of unconscious guild members, most of which were groaning from the intense pain they were in. They'd survive. Nothing lasting and no need to go get a checkup. He made sure that nothing was broken. The only damage thing on them was their pride. No broken bones, no shattered limbs. Just a damaged pride.

On the other side of him was Levi and Cana. Levi looked up to him with confidence and an evil glint. Cana looked worried, but happy as she knew something that he probably didn't. The other person that was near him was the source of all his anger and frustration. He wanted nothing more than to kill this person, but sadly, Makarov had returned from wherever he had run off to when the bodies started flying and explained a few things to him. Among the things he talked about was that he couldn't kill him.

That didn't stop him from wanting, dreaming, and planning for him to die in cruel ways.

One week ago things had been normal. He had been very happy. That went downhill fast, unfortunately. And the whole thing started with Kurama… of all people.

**One Week Ago**

Naruto, Erza, Cana, and Bisca looked down at Max. Kurama just looked straight ahead, his mouth agape.

It was a proud moment for them all. They were happy. Naruto was happy because all those days of working before this had paid him handsomely enough to not have to pay for the small fox that they had just gotten. She was beautiful. She had white fur, a golden collar around her neck. She sat on her haunches and didn't even blink. Kurama had to be smitten by her beauty.

"Don't you wanna say hello to our new friend, Kurama," Max finally asked the little red fox.

Kurama's mouth began to move, but he couldn't truly articulate anything proper. He just garbled out, **"I don't… I-I-can't-I don't… This is…"**

"Take your time. This is a big moment."

"**I can't deal with this right now!"** Max made a growling noise with the thing. **"This isn't what I had in mind!"**

"What are you talking about?" Cana asked, pointing down at the small fox that just stared back at Kurama. "You wanted a mate. We got you a mate. She'll be seen and not heard. That's what you wanted, right?"

The small fox growled and pointed at the ever silent white fox. **"She's a fucking plushy!"**

"Language!"

"**Fuck! Shit! Cunt! Damn! Pussy! Asshole! Tits! Motherfucker!"**

Cana bopped him in the head. "She's what you're getting. We can't afford to have another fox running around the house as it is. What if the thing isn't housebroken? What then?"

"**I will simply tell it to clean up its own messes! I will wear the pants in the relationship! No vixen or female of any type will ever control me." **He looked back at the plushy and glared at Max in turn. **"I should remove your nuts. You know that, right?"**

When it came time for Max to open up his shop, the first place he turned to was the female members. He made figurines of each female that could pose in various ways and wear various types of clothing. They weren't fully naked underneath, much to the relief of Lucy. The next thing he had done was make different colored versions of Fairy Tails' first animal member, that being Kurama, to be sold. They came a variety of different colors. Girls bought them by the loads and took them home for whatever activities girls did with cute things. Naruto and Kurama both got a piece of the profit since it was Naruto's idea and it was Kurama's design he was using.

When Cana had approached him about this, he had made sure to get the best one he could. This was it. It was a white, soft-furred, plushy.

"So you don't want it?" Bisca asked. Her eyes landed on Erza as she continued to pet the one she had. She got a life-size version of Kurama and took it with her everywhere she went. The best thing was that it was scaled to match him as closely as they could, so his fur was really soft. "Why did you get a red one?"

"I never get to pet him and I happen to like red things."

"**That's gross." **Max went to pick it up and Kurama zipped it, grabbing it by the scruff of its neck with his mouth and dragging it away. He sat it down in front of his host as he plopped down beside it, one tailed wrapped around it protectively. **"I never said I didn't want it, now did I?"**

"Well then it's decided," Naruto grabbed the both of them up, placing Kurama on his shoulder and forcing him to hold his new love interest. "We up for poker tonight? Makarov has been putting that off for a while now."

"We're doing it tonight. It won't be for a couple of hours, though."

"**I'm taking my new mate home." **

The Kyuubi jumped off his hosts' shoulder and began running with the plushy in his muzzle. Naruto didn't even want to think about what he was going to do it when he got home.

"So I've got time to kill, huh? Fair enough. I guess I'll just go hang out with Natsu or something. I haven't spent time with that little guy in a while. Unless you guys all wanna have a drinking contest right now."

"We can do that while we play cards," Erza stated. "How about we do a mission together? I haven't done one with you in a while."

Cana slipped her arm through Naruto's and hugged him close to her breasts. "We were planning on getting things together since I'm moving in with him today. You can help us if you'd like." Erza nodded and went to fetch some help. "She's getting Natsu, Gray, and Lucy. Don't stare at her breasts. Make sure Kurama doesn't start a fight with Happy. And make goddamn sure you keep Natsu from burning anything down and keep him from causing fights with Gray. We have a lot of cleaning to do and I don't want to clean up any of their crap."

Naruto just nodded mutely and followed his girlfriend once they others had arrived.

(-)

It took a few hours but they had finally managed to box up the stuff that Cana was bringing with them. Transporting them was going to be easy since Naruto agreed to just make a bunch of clones and haul them that way. Elfman had arrived and also promised to help, along with Mirajane. She had someone else working the bar for the time being.

Lucy was plagued, however, with the odd choice of a new bed. Erza didn't want it because she liked the one she had. Mirajane didn't want it because her bed was also too comfy and it was bigger than Cana's. Elfman would have taken it, but only for the matrass since it was comfier than the one he had. Sadly, the matrass was part of the bed and thus he couldn't get it. Natsu and Gray didn't want it for reasons they weren't explaining.

"How many times did you guys have sex in it?"

"Seriously?" Cana demanded. Naruto turned and started laughing on Natsu's shoulder. The pink haired teen didn't understand what he was finding funny and shrugged. "We haven't had sex in it in like three weeks! I clean the sheets all the time. I at least keep up with that."

"Sperm and other bodily fluids can easily sink down in the matrass and ruin it," she explained, sounding more like a lecturing parent than a teen that would probably be doing the same thing in it. "Did you lose your virginity in it?"

"No." Naruto answered for her. "She lost that on a park bench with me." Cana whirled around and decked her boyfriend in the face. He didn't even budge. "Stop nitpicking over this, Lucy. Either buy it or don't. You said your bed was good but not this good. We're selling it dirt cheap."

"Probably because you guys have worked it over so many times with your sexual activities that it's worthless."

"If it makes you feel any better, I only cam on her stomach during the times we had sex in her bed."

Cana hit him again.

"Then you roll her over and do it again," Mirajane continued, horrifying Lucy even more. Cana didn't even bother looking at her friend. It was true and only she had known about it because they did the same thing. Naruto never went inside her. It was always outside. Such a good person. But then he'd roll you over and then start again. "Point is; just buy the bed. We always cleaned up afterwards when we had sex. I know Naruto well enough to know that he cleaned up after they had sex. You can't see any stains anyways."

"But you can _feel _them!"

Naruto turned and started laughing again, this time resting on Gray's shoulder. He was just as impassive about this conversation as Natsu was. Maybe he didn't get it either.

"Can you stop laughing at me? Buying a bed is a hard choice. One that's used is even harder. What if you two decided to have a massive sex spree in the bed and just shit and piss it? People do weird things when they just wanna have sex."

Naruto was grabbed up by Cana and she forced him to look at Lucy. "We have never done anything like that! That's gross, for starters. We always take breaks. We always stop when the other person wants to stop." Mirajane started whistling at that and began looking around the room. "We would never do anything like that. The only reason I'm selling the bed is because Naruto doesn't have enough room at his place for it. Now! Do you want the bed or not? We're going to get rid of it either way. This way it can be sold cheaper to a friend rather than a total stranger."

Lucy looked her right in the eye and then looked back at the bed. It was pretty big; built to handle at least three people if they scrunched up together. She didn't really need a new bed, but for the price they were asking it would be a big improvement in both size and comfort.

"Five thousand," she finally said.

"Six thousand."

"Fine. Can I have the bed transported to my place and then I'll pay you after my next job?"

"You got a week."

"Fair enough."

Naruto created a few clones to start dismantling the bed for transport. It took ten minutes to break it all down and then create more clones to haul it off. Lucy led the army of clones towards her place. Natsu followed if only to make sure Naruto didn't jump her or whatnot. Naruto was a known pervert and Natsu wasn't about to let Naruto do anything crazy with Lucy. Plus, he had to make sure that he didn't accidently run into Gajeel. That would be tough to explain. Naruto didn't know Gajeel face-to-face, thankfully.

The others had begun hefting things towards Naruto's place. They didn't know what to expect when they got home or where they were going to put it.

Naruto and Elfman spent more time moving things around for Cana and Mirajane since the two were going to remodel Naruto's place so it matched with Cana's stuff. This was a pain in the ass for the two males as they spent more time just putting stuff back where they had originally gotten it from. Erza eventually put a stop to it and gave the boys a chance to finish getting things in place. Naruto was strangely very tired at the end of it. Elfman looked tuckered out. He had plopped down on the floor and just laid there. Mirajane was taking a rabid interest in teasing him about his condition.

"Let's get cleaned up for poker night," Erza suggested, her hands resting on her hips. "I will beat you today, Naruto. Make no mistake about that."

Naruto just smiled and then touched the side of his head as a wave of fresh memories hit him. His clones sure lasted a long time. They had gotten their job done at Lucy's house. Natsu helped, of course, in his own way, and managed to ruin the entire moment by burning the matrass to a crisp. Lucy wasn't happy with this and ordered him to buy her a new matrass to fit the new bed. Natsu agree, though he probably didn't know that Lucy was going to charge him out the ass for it.

They somehow managed to talk her into going to poker night. Natsu had been the big push because he told her about all the money she could win if she beat Naruto. Naruto had a long winning streak going. He played off and on, but when he did get going, he never stopped until Makarov put his foot down. So far he had won the last fifty-eight games.

"I'll be over in an hour," Naruto said with only a fraction of a pause as the memories hit him. Cana ran to the bathroom to get washed up. Bad thing was that there was only one bathroom. Mirajane smiled and ran in as well, leaving Elfman on the ground. "Hey! Wait!" Mirajane slammed the door in his face and Cana began laughing hysterically on the other side. "Mirajane, you know the rules. Two girls in one bathroom always have to have me included. Unlock this door so I can join!"

"Not happening," she replied. "This is girl time! Don't worry. I'll take _good _care of Cana." Said girl gave out a girlish squeal as something, probably something kinky, happened on the other side. Naruto had his face pressed against the door and blood dripping from his nose. This was so going in his book.

(-)

Natsu stared at the cards in his hands. Happy looked over his shoulder and pointed at one of them. "Why don't they have any that look like fish?"

"Don't know," he answered.

"Quiet down!" Wakaba hissed. He wasn't going to lose this time around. He had a winning hand for sure. "Spread 'em."

Natsu placed his cards on the table, showing that he had a pair of threes.

Macao sighed and threw his cards on the ground. He obviously didn't have anything.

Gray showed his two pairs and proudly boasted his victory over his fire using friend. Where it not for the quick intervention of Mirajane they might have had another fight on their hands. During poker night, no one was allowed to fight. They had to do that after the games were completed.

"Well damn!" Wakaba threw his cards down and hissed a curse. "I'm out."

Mirajane walked over, offering drinks and declared the winner of table five to be Gray. The teen proudly stood up, showboating and walking around in his boxers. Once it was pointed out he freaked and went to find his clothes.

Table three sported Erza beating Max, Elfman, and Bisca. Table four had Lucy beating out Alzack, Nab, and Jet. Levi stomped everyone at table two, leaving only a sobbing Droy and Reedus behind. Table one was still active with Vijeteer looking to beat Laki, Niggy, and Romeo.

"I'll raise you three hundred." Vijeteer pushed his chips forward into the large pot and waited.

Laki pushed her money in. Niggy took a long time but he eventually called it as well. Romeo just shoved all his money in. Luck had gotten him pretty far so already.

"Call 'em." He spread his cards down. Full house. Kings over threes.

Laki sighed and put her cards face down. She lost.

Niggy sighed and did the same.

Romeo put his cards down and showed that he had the winning hand: A royal flush.

Vijeteer cried and slammed his head on the table while Macao congratulated his son.

Cana laughed from her spot beside her boyfriend and Makarov. Naruto didn't have to compete in these matches. He was the crowned King of Poker. Cana and Mirajane had already won their matches and had been waiting for the finals to finish. Now that they were done, they could move on to the next set of games.

"Alright," Makarov shouted over the roar of cheers from the winning members. "We'll be moving on to the final rounds. Remember that you can drop out at any time during these matches, but you will handle over seventy percent of your winnings. The victor of this will walk away with fifty percent of their winnings. Remember, this is also for the guild to keep up our income."

The winners from the previous rounds were called up to the large table. Naruto smiled eagerly as Lucy approached him, bowing respectfully towards him. "Pretty good for a rookie," he commented, gesturing towards her defeated opponents. "Alzack was second place three times in a row in the previous games. I honestly wanted to have another match against him."

"I've got some serious poker skills. You won't win against me."

Cana laughed as she sat down beside him and said, "I said the same thing the first time we started doing this. Everyone has always said that to him. No one has ever beaten him unless he wanted to. And trust me, he shows us his hand when he quits. We used to have him go shirtless for this because we thought he was cheating for so long."

Lucy arched a brow. She hadn't seen Naruto shirtless, not that she really wanted to. Cana was very possessive of her boyfriend.

"Everyone shut up and sit down." Makarov grabbed up the cards before anyone else could touch them and replaced them with a new deck. "I will be the dealer for this round. Let's go over the rules. Rule number one is that I am the dealer. I will always be holding the cards. Rule number two is that a card laid is a card played. Once you put your card or cards you can't pick them back up. This also applies to putting your cards down as well. If you put your cards down after being dealt a new hand, you will give up your hand and have to wait for the next round to continue playing. Rule number three is that you can't backtalk me."

"What? That's bullshit!" Naruto shouted suddenly.

Makarov gave the teen a hard glare.

"What?" He laughed out. Cana popped him. "What? Seriously? What'd I do?"

"Just shut up, Naruto."

The blond began laughing as Makarov started shuffling the cards.

Lucy eyed everyone that had made it this far. Naruto's clones had told her a great deal about this, and Natsu, after burning her matrass, had told her that this was a sure fire way to get enough money to not only pay for the bed that she bought, but also to pay for her rent. The entry fee wasn't too steep. It was only two thousand jewels. But two thousand jewels spent on an entry to get in gave you two thousand chips that accumulated to two thousand jewels. With those chips you played Five Card Draw with up to four people per table. Those who entered at that point had to play all the way to this point. By the time you got here you had made eight thousand jewels, which you would then spend to make more money here.

Lucy looked at her competition and her breath hitched in her throat. Mirajane looked like she knew what she was doing. Cana seemed very relax. Romeo looked hyper as hell as his father stood behind him, his hands placed on his shoulder and talking him through the whole thing. He had to be pulled off by Wakaba. Levi was grinning from ear to ear as her two teammates cheering her own. Erza looked completely confident and ready to get down to business. Gray was already shirtless and didn't even register it as he tried to look cool by resting his chin on his fist.

Her competition was stiff.

Makarov dealt out the cards and Lucy snatched hers up. Her hand sucked and she put down four of her cards after everyone sorted out their cards and raised the pot a bit. Her new cards gave her two pairs. She won that round and was happy that she overcame the over-lucky Naruto. In a matter of hours she had won and lost her rent money three times over. But she hung in there. She beat out Erza, Levi, and Gray. Only Romeo, Naruto, Mirajane, and Cana remained in the end.

Makarov dealt out the next hand and Cana was eliminated. Naruto gave her some money so she could get drunk and wash away her blues over losing.

Naruto eyed his hand and fixed them up. He didn't take any cards that time around. Mirajane took two, Romeo took three, and Lucy took one. Naruto eyed her closely and raised the pot. Mirajane raised it as well and Lucy called it with Naruto doing the same. Romeo put his cards down and didn't want to try his hand.

Lucy won the round and Mirajane was eliminated as a result.

The last three members fought for two more rounds before Romeo was taken out as well.

Now it was just Naruto and Lucy.

"How about we do this in one hand?" Naruto questioned. "We push in all our money and end this in one round. Does that sound fair?"

"Sure."

The cards were dealt and the two pushed in all their chips. The finale hand was very tense. Lucy fixed her cards and then looked at Naruto with her best poker face. It was time for her to win.

There was one rule that wasn't talked about: Magic! She could use her magic to win this so long as it didn't touch her cards or her opponent. That was the real kicker. And she had it in the bag now.

A puff of smoke and a beautiful maid appeared. She wore shackles, had pink hair, blue eyes, and wore a typical black and white maids' outfit. She was very beautiful and with the shackles that she wore gave anyone looking at her the idea that she was into BDSM.

Lucy's plan was brilliant. Naruto was a known pervert. If his cards hit the table he lost. So all she had to do was stun him into doing so by having her Celestial Spirit show her breasts. She always wanted to be punished, and the one time she was willing to do it was this. She would never hurt her, not even for money. But she did want to help and she did want to be punished for not being able to help out in the previous job.

"Nice," Naruto said, not all that impressed with her appearance.

"Virgo, do it."

"Of course, Lucy-sama." Virgo reached over and removed Lucy's top. The entire guild went silent as every hot blooded male sucked in a big breath of air. Naruto dropped his cards and nearly every male passed out at the best set of breasts the guild had to offer. "Did I do as you asked correctly, Lucy-sama?"

Lucy's scream of horror was her cry of victory as not only did she win, but she also scrambled to find her top and put it back on.

Cana whirled on her boyfriend when she saw him sighing blissfully at the sight of probably the best rack he'd ever seen. Her punch struck him with such force that his face was smashed into the table, leaving an imprint as a result. Naruto laughed it off and looked up. Lucy was already in the process of putting her top on when he had looked back up. She was also scolding Virgo. Naruto didn't get a chance to listen in as Cana grabbed him up and shoved him out of the guild headquarters.

"I can't believe you lost!" She shouted at him when they got far enough away from the building. Naruto picked at his ear. "I know you agreed to lose this time around, but why did you lose in such a stupid fashion? Did you know she was going to do that? Did you bribe her?"

"No. I wasn't going to lose either. I had four aces. I doubt she had anything that could beat that. It's a good thing she did what she did, or I would have won. Not that I'm complaining or anything. I got to see some nice tits out of all that." Cana hit him again. "Jealous?"

"Hardly. Those things are going to sag when she gets older. Mine won't." Her boyfriend shrugged and decided to return to the guild headquarters to say his official goodbyes. "You wanna have a drinking contest when we get home?" She grabbed his hand and walked him in. "I'm game if you are."

"How about we do that and continue playing cards when we get home. Strip poker."

"I'm down for that."

**Six Days Ago**

"**Can one of you let me outside? I need to use the bathroom."**

Naruto groaned and poked Cana's arm. She grumbled something, but didn't move.

An intense night drinking, playing cards, and then three rounds of sex had definitely taken something out of the two of them. Having a hangover didn't help either. Naruto had a small one that was quickly leaving his system, but a hangover, no matter how small or big, was still a hangover. They sucked. There was no getting used to them.

"Use the bathroom, Kurama. You know how to work the toilet." Naruto yawned and fell right back into the word of cuddles and ramen with Cana spoon feeding him. It was the perfect dream.

"**I want to go outside. Nice day. So open the door, please?"**

"Cana, open the door for him."

"You do it. He's your pet."

"I will pay for you alcohol if you let him out."

Cana threw off the blankets. She rubbed her eyes and fumbled for the door. She could hear the soft pitter patter of feet behind her. She stumbled up against the door, unlocked it, and opened it. She felt his tail brush up against her leg and she began to shut the door. **"Wait! You'll crush my tail! I slept on my leg wrong."**

"I'm leaving the door cracked," she hissed as she moved back towards the bed for a nice continuing sleep. "Shut the door when you get back."

Cana returned to bed, noting that the time was five in the morning. She crashed down, still naked from their activities the other night, and snuggled up to her boyfriend for warmth. She was too tired to wiggle herself under the covers. Better to snuggle this way. He wouldn't feel her cold skin against his.

It was thirty minutes later that Kurama returned. The door was shut as quietly as he could do it, yet it still woke Naruto. The blond looked up slightly, his blurry vision obscuring what he saw in his tenant as he padded over to his den. There was complete, honest to god, silence for ten more minutes before he worryingly asked, **"Can you get me some water," **to his host.

Naruto didn't respond immediately. His first response was a low groan that sounded more like an angry growl than a tired moan or a yawn. He smacked his lips, turned his head so that he was facing Cana and said, "No. You can get it yourself. You don't need your water bowl filled. You can use a cup since you hate the water bowl."

There was an uneasy silence from his tenant. That should have been a clue that something was wrong with him. Sadly, it wasn't. Naruto was too hung over and too tired to even bother putting it together. That was probably a good thing. Still, he had to try. **"I would use a cup, but I figure you two are going to sleep in and I'd rather like to not make a mess while trying to refill my single cup. So can you please fill the water bowl?"**

"Kurama," Naruto's voice went dangerous. Kurama wondered if having Hinata around might have changed his mood. She loved him to death… literally. "If I have to get up and get you water, I'm going to strangle you and drown you in the bowl. So get it yourself."

"**I'll make a mess. I don't want to make a mess. Unless you want me to make a mess."**

"Kurama!" Naruto sat up straight in the bed, nearly throwing Cana to the floor in the process.

Naruto's words fell in his own throat, however, as he gazed down at probably the whole reason Kurama wanted water. Beside Kurama was his plushy mate, and around her were three white foxes with red tips on their tails and ears with what could only male having black rings around its eyes, leaving the others to be the females. They were half his size, making them no bigger than the average shoe someone wore. They were cute, had only one tail, and somehow managed to look so innocent.

"**Aren't you going to say hello?"**

Naruto's mouth opened as if he were trying to articulate something. It took several seconds before he was able to say, "I don't… I-I-can't-I don't… This is…"

"**Take your time. This is a big moment."**

Cana sat up and saw the three kits just trying to look cute and innocent.

"I can't deal with this right now!" One of them, he wasn't sure which, purred and Naruto growled down at it, frightening it. "Shut up! You're disgusting! I'm going back to bed. Kurama, get the water yourself." He flopped down onto his bed and buried his face in the pillow.

"**What if I-"**

"If you make a mess, you will either clean it up or leave it for us to clean up and then kick your ass."

"**But what-"**

"If I have to get up, I'm throwing you and those imaginary foxes out the window."

The small Bijuu sighed in defeat and looked to Cana for hope. She had nothing to say on the matter and soon followed through with her boyfriend.

Kurama, left to his own devices, sighed and looked at the three kits with an exasperated sigh. He really didn't want to make a mess. Last mess had resulted in him getting a sever thrashing from his host. He wasn't even sure he wanted to go through that again, even if the ending had been with him getting a big laugh with his host.

**Five Hours Later**

Naruto and Cana sat at the table with Kurama sitting on the other side of them with one of the kits laying down right in front of him on the table with him. He had one paw on its head as if he was protecting it. Another was sitting in front of Cana and quickly grabbed up by her and cuddled with it. The last one was crawling around in front of Naruto and trying to make him play with it. Naruto didn't go along with it.

"What's your name little girl?"

"Minion number two!"

"Did you mom approve of that name?" It shook its head, showing that Kurama had obviously given it that name. "Well…we need to fix that, now don't we?" It yipped in response, switching back to normal talk for Kitsunes. "How about I name you… Cornelia?" _ In honor of my mother. _

Naruto, whom wasn't taking any interest in this, just stared at his girlfriend with the most annoyed expression he'd ever shot her. "Cana, please stop talking and naming the figments of our imagination. These aren't real." The one in front of him suddenly lunged forward, biting Naruto's index finger. The bit force was enough to draw blood, but not enough to register pain on Naruto's end. Anything he did with others when he was working was different. This was nothing. "You're spoiling something that isn't real."

"You're bleeding."

"Also not real."

"And how is not real? Answer that for me, please."

"The whole town has been intoxicated by a hallucinogen that makes us see things that aren't really there. We have always seen Kurama and we gave him a plushy recently that was white. Our minds are linking these two things together and creating these three fake foxes. The entire town has been overrun with it right now, and we're seeing something that only we see on a daily basis. In this case; we're seeing Kurama and what he'd have for kids should he ever find a real mate."

"**That,"** Kurama said after a long pause of stunned silence, **"Was the longest pile of garbage I have ever heard in my entire life. That's saying something, actually."**

"That doesn't account for other things, Naruto. I'm seeing them. I'm playing with them. You're bleeding."

"**Which I can smell, mind you."**

Naruto gave them both very flat looks. He wasn't buying this one bit. He wanted to hit them all and throw those imaginary creatures out the window, but that implied that he accepted them as being real. If he did anything with them, it would be to act like they weren't there, meaning he'd be stepping on them, kicking them, and just being cruel to them. To do this, however, would be a crime in his own mind. Kurama was both a blessing and a curse in that area.

On the one hand, Kurama was basically a small fox, living, breathing, eating, sleeping, and drinking his way through life like any other animal in the world. He just could talk and tell you what was wrong or what he wanted. Normal animals couldn't, and that was what got him. He couldn't bring himself to hurt them because he always envisioned the way he had once treated Kurama, and that hurt him more than Kurama probably even realized. But on the other hand, choosing to not show them respect and walk on them was the only way to prove that they weren't really there.

Looking at the bite mark on his finger, it had already healed and the drop of blood that had formed was already smeared away and dried. Naruto couldn't chalk that up to an illusion. His healing ability really did a number on any wound he got.

"I'm going to the guild for an hour," he finally said.

"And leave me here with Cornelia and the other two all alone?"

"I'll get you your beer. I'll be back in an hour."

Naruto left before Kurama or Cana could say anything. He wanted to get out before he was drawn in on this. He didn't need this right now. The week was going great so far. Kurama having children wasn't something he wanted to deal with. He needed to get out of the place before he started to believe that the creatures that just couldn't be real were actually real. He didn't need this.

Naruto was true to his word. He returned an hour later right on the dot with Cana's beer. He bought her four barrels and began drinking his own kind of beer. They spent the entire day drinking and spending time together. Naruto went out of his way to ignore the small foxes, though he did walk over them and made sure to not hurt the creatures that were clearly not real. The one time he did seem to acknowledge them was when one of them, Naruto wasn't sure if it had a name or not, decided to jump on his face and bite his face. This one moment had Naruto glaring right at it and then hurting it through methods he couldn't control by jumping straight up and sending it flying towards the door where Cana was. That hadn't ended well for him as Cana went and started a heavy lecture about animal cruelty.

**Five Days Ago**

Lucy smiled brightly as Naruto helped Natsu put in her new matrass. It fit perfectly.

"You okay?" Natsu asked Naruto. Happy flew around Lucy's place, eagerly looking for Kurama so he could probably pick a fight. They hadn't fought in a long time.

"I'm fine. I just had a stressful night."

Lucy snorted while putting on the new sheets for her matrass. She mistook his words for something else. It didn't help Naruto any because of his past and because of what he was known for. She could honestly be grateful for not knowing the real him from so many years ago. Sure being a known pervert wasn't that great, but it was better than being known was a person with PTSD that had Demonic creature in his gut and also someone that had killed well over a thousand people in a previous war. Being a known pervert was a lot better.

"Is it not working out with Cana now that she's living with you?" Gray questioned.

Lucy screamed, stopping Naruto from saying anything as she caught sight of him in only his boxers. The ice user took a hard kick to the side of his head and Naruto was nice enough to wait for him to pick himself up and get his clothes on before answering. "It's not that. We're getting along great. I've spent a week at her house in the past and we got along. It's Kurama that's being a pain in the ass. He's very… territorial."

Happy landed on Naruto's shoulder and patted him on the head. "You want me to smack him with a nasty fish?"

"No. But thanks for the offer. I'll keep it open for you." He gave the bed a hard look. "Pink sheets, a white confuter, and sky-blue pillow casings?"

"Don't judge me." She stuck her tongue out.

The three males began laughing. Happy missed what was going on.

An awkward silence followed until Gray looked out the window and said, "We should probably be going. I need to take another job before the end of the week to pay my bills. Lucy, do you wanna tag along?"

"No thanks," she pointed at the matrass that Natsu bought her. "I've got plenty of money to pay for rent for this month and probably the next. I'm going shopping with Mirajane-san this afternoon."

"You're going to blow all the money you made on shopping?" The Jinchuuriki laughed. "I'd put some of it in the bank. You never know when you might need it for a rainy day." Gray froze for a moment. "You okay?" Naruto asked the Ice Mage.

"I'm fine. I just… had a bad feeling all of a sudden." He looked at the door and waved to the others. "I'm going to go now. See guys later."

Goodbyes went around and Naruto felt out of place. Did Gray do or know something Naruto didn't? The others hadn't reacted, but they did seem to understand something that he didn't. Questioning them wasn't an option. They'd claim up. Or Lucy would at the very least. She was a smart girl. Natsu on the other hand would spill everything. Naruto remembered a time when he got his clothes off his back for a full two days. Good times, even if Mirajane and Erza had made a play to kick his ass after that. Lisanna hadn't liked it one bit either.

There was only one person he could turn to for information right now.

"I'll see you guys later." Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Tell Makarov I won't be in today. I'm sure that'll make his day."

He wasn't gone five seconds before Natsu turned and looked at his blonde haired friend. "You think he knows?"

Lucy smacked him hard. "Don't! Say! Anything!" She went back to working on her bed.

(-)

Naruto's idea of being left alone wasn't happening. Cana had decided to seek him out, which had been very easy with Kurama leading the way, and dropped off his tenant and the three imaginary foxes for him to take care of. Naruto had near instantly started an argument right there in the middle of town, but her glare had shut him up before he could even utter a single word. Naruto had no idea where she was heading, but he did know that he was getting stuck with Kurama and the three imaginary foxes until dinner.

As unsettling as it was, Naruto knew he could turn to one person that might actually care about what was wrong with him.

The blond stepped in to a small shop where the scent of booze, cigarettes, and sex hit him hard. He stumbled a bit and then walked for the counter. The place was a bar, brothel/whore house, and a place for orphans. Naruto really didn't see the upside to the orphanage part of what this place was, but he wasn't going to argue with them. These people were his friends and a great place to get information if he needed any.

"Well if it isn't the Golden Flash of Fairy Tail!"

Naruto chuckled at the foxy voice of the only female friend he had here. Strange that he was friends with the other three males here and only one female.

He turned and saw the dark skinned beauty and made sure to keep his eyes above the gold shirt that barely contained her impressive rack. Her hair was black and a bigger afro than what Nab had. He still hadn't shown the two of them to each other. Naruto believed that they might get along. He could be wrong.

"Sorry to barge in like this. I need to talk to Black Dynamite. Is he in?"

"Of course he is. I'll go get him."

Naruto kept his eyes up as she went to fetch his friend. Very few people could stand him, but Naruto was among the few. He may come off as a mean person, but he was a very kind person in his own way. Black Dynamite, however, is a very serious person, seeking justice and kicking ass. He was a former soldier of the Magic Council and worked as an operative doing jobs that Naruto did now. It was how they met.

The blond did his best to ignore the three foxes that were running around the place. Kurama didn't even seem to care that they were running around like how they were. Maybe they really weren't here? This was one way to figure out. There was no way Black Dynamite would or could miss three white little foxes running around his place. He had a hard time just accepting Kurama.

No sooner had Honey Bee left did Black Dynamite arrive, thankfully with some clothes on. The last time Naruto had seen him he had been naked and raising all sorts of hell about someone interrupting his seduction.

"Do what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Uzumaki?" He laced his fingers together as he sat down at his throne.

"Well I mostly came here just to talk, but I'd also like some information if you can help me out with something." Black Dynamite arched a thick brow. More than once Naruto had thought of him as a bigger, meaner, blacker, and cooler version of Rock Lee. The man was all about justice, working out, and doing right. He also reminded him a bit of Ei. Those two would have probably gotten along so well. "Do you have any information on Siegrain?"

"He's dead."

"I know that. But the information surrounding his death is unknown. Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Lucy all acted differently after having their little getaway a few weeks ago. It's been bugging me for a while now and when I asked them about it they didn't have anything to say for it."

"Did you once tell me you didn't like spying on your friends?"

"I know what I'm asking you to do, but I'm asking only on Siegrain. I'm not asking about Erza and the others right now. I can piece together my own thing from what you can tell me on Siegrain."

"He died during a battle with Fairy Tail on the Tower of Heaven." Naruto sat back in his chair. Black Dynamite looked serious… or even more serious than before. "Turns out, the cracker was using a fake name and his real name was Jellal Fernandes. He was using Shinentai to fool the Magic Council. He fought Fairy Tail at the Tower of Heaven and reportedly lost the fight. His body was never recovered and so they believe him to have died. He had hired Trinity Raven from Death's Head Caucus during the incident to kill anyone who showed up at the tower, despite the fact that he sent out other people to capture them and bring them to him."

"Why would he do that? Why capture people and then hire other people to kill the people he captured? It makes no senses."

"Who knows how that cracker thinks? All I know is that he's dead and that the council is now in the process of being rebuilt. Not much else is known."

"Wow. You're a lot of help." Naruto ran a hand through his hair and finally turned to glare at Kurama. "Black Dynamite, do you see any white foxes around here right now?"

The dark skinned man stood up, eyeballing the area. "I don't see anything other than the little red one you have your shoulder." Kurama didn't budge. Black Dynamite was a man of steel. Once he tried to claw his face off but nothing happened. His face had to be chiseled from stone or something. "Do you need anything else before you go?"

"No." Naruto stood up, sighing peacefully. Strange, he couldn't see the foxes now either. "I'll get out of your hair."

The blond walked out and then looked down. The white foxes were there again. Had they been hiding when he asked that question? Where it not for the vendors and the citizens passing by he might have just stepped on one of them to test the theory of them being illusions and not real. He could always go to the guild and see if they saw them. That implied work though, and he really didn't feel like working today.

**Four Days Ago**

Mirajane laughed long and loud as she saw Erza and Cana's face go red. Part of Naruto's face was red, but that was from a slap he took when Cana had snatched up the book that Mirajane had been reading and giggling at. Very few people got his books before they came out, but those that did usually doubled as beta-readers as well without their knowledge. Levi couldn't find everything. It just happened that the people who got them early couldn't do it too well either, but they could spot an error pretty easily if it was spelling.

"It's not funny!" Cana screamed. She hit Naruto with the book again for good measure. Better he take a beating for something he knew he did that she didn't know he did now than later when it would hurt him worse. Her logic made no sense but he wasn't going to argue with the woman that could probably strangle him in his sleep. "We didn't have sex in the bathroom, Naruto. The giggling was for your imagination."

"And this is the end result," Naruto defended.

Cana resisted the urge to hit him again. If she hit him again he'd defend himself. That usually involved spankings. Spankings usually led to a small fight. Small fights usually led to intense, wild, passionate, and crazy sex that just left them in bed staring at the ceiling wondering what had just happened. She didn't want that right now. They had guests. She could do that later. Pick a fight just so that they'd have wild, crazy, passionate makeup sex. That kind was the best in her opinion.

"I told you two you should have let me in. Now Elfman will know that I get my inspiration from the guild." Erza turned the page in her book and her face went even redder. "Which part?"

Instead of answering, she thrust the book in his face and Naruto began laughing hysterically. Cana snatched the book up and began reading it as well. She skimmed it over while Mirajane read at her own pace from her own copy. Had Naruto never dated her he might have thought her beyond this. She was just as naughty as he was, if not a little more so. She did still do the photo shoots for that magazine. He didn't keep up with it. Why look at near naked photos of the girl you used to date when you actually _have _naked photos of said you girl you used to date. Cana knew about them and didn't care. Erza didn't know, but she'd probably care.

"Girls can't rub together like that and reach climax, Naruto." Cana put the book back in Erza's hands. She went back to reading it. "I've never met a single girl that could do that."

"So you admit to sleeping with other girls?"

"Yes, Naruto. I've slept with other girls. I slept with Mirajane, Levi, Erza, Laki, and Lucy." Her face went red. "Of course I've never slept with any other girl! Men are such pigs."

"And yet you can't live without us."

"So true," Mirajane said, jumping in for her own little insert in the conversation. "Until women learn to have children without the aid of men, we will have to rely on you to continue our way of living."

"You make that sound like it is being researched right now."

"Oh it is," Cana said without remorse for her boyfriend. The blond cried fake tears. "Don't feel too bad. It won't be perfected for hundreds of years. You have plenty of time to have kids with me and die, leaving the future to them. I just hope I have two kids. One girl and one so we both have someone to raise and corrupt."

"I'm totally looking forward to that moment in my life." The blond caught Mirajane's eyes as she narrowed them on him. "What?"

"Where's Kurama?"

"Why? You like him more than you like me?"

"You did break up with me." Erza chuckled into her book. "And his fur is so soft." The book groaned as Erza threatened to break it. Was Mirajane trying to pick a fight?

"Maybe it's because you're just not as sexy as you used to be." Cana smiled when Mirajane noticed what she was getting at. It was a chance to put Naruto on the spot and make things really hard for him. Erza even lowered her book, eager to see this play out.

Naruto knew the whole reason for why Cana was being this way. They were doing this in his room, which was a normal thing when they all really looked back on it. Sadly, Kurama was locked up in the kitchen with the small imaginary foxes as they ran around causing mischief and other sort of problems for him. Since they followed Kurama around everywhere he went, it was only natural to lock him up somewhere so they stayed out of his way and the way of Mirajane and Erza, who didn't need to be infected by whatever it was that had made them see those fake creatures.

Cana's retribution was done through putting him on the spot like this. Not that he didn't mind. Having Mirajane and Cana beating him up was going to be worth it in the long run. A small defense could go a long way when dealing with girls that wore next to nothing.

"Cana is easily number one in the guild. Sorry, Mirajane, but you're just number two now."

She huffed and tackled him, dropping her book in the process. Erza looked over the edge of the bed where the barmaid had tackled him, grinning like mad as she held his arms to the side. Her aura was returning, so she didn't have that inner fire like she used to. Naruto, however, was getting a fine look at her bust. Cana knew that he was and quickly pulled Mirajane off and then stomped on her boyfriend. Naruto rolled sideways and grabbed Mirajane's leg, yanking it out from under her. She fell backwards, landed on the bed, and squealed as Naruto began laughing.

She quickly put her hands down and closed any view he might have had up her dress. Cana had already grabbed her boyfriend up and was trying to chock him. The blond laughed at her attempts and stood up. She held on and then screamed when he dove forward, grabbing Mirajane up and becoming a sandwich between the two. Mirajane howled with laughter as Naruto's hands crept over her body and started tickling her. Cana took offense and started tickling him.

A tickle war started between the three that soon had Erza being forced into it after a small comment from the redhead made her a target. That was when Naruto struck. In quick succession he ran his finger from the lower back to the shoulder blades on Cana and Mirajane. They freaked and turned so fast that they collided with Erza. She fell down on the bed and Naruto shoved the two down as well.

"Three girls in my bed," he whispered. Cana was in the middle and placed her hands on both girls' breasts so she could sit up. Mirajane cooed while Erza just blinked. Wearing a breastplate made feeling anything like that impossible. He whistled. "I always knew you were hiding a mean streak for girls, Cana. Nice to see you finally letting it out."

Cana smiled devious and began massaging Mirajane's chest. Naruto's plan backfired as both girls laughed and started doing it to each other. Erza looked left out and before the blond could laugh he was shoved out the door and into the kitchen. The door was then locked and intense giggling and playful moaning could be heard on the other side.

"**You got played." **

"Shut up."

Locking Naruto out proved useful and funny as the blond was subjected to the torturous methods of both his tenant and the three imaginary foxes. It wasn't for another hour before the three girls emerged from his room and just like with his dark skinned friend, the three foxes seemingly vanished. Naruto didn't even bring them up. Erza and Mirajane would have asked about them if they saw them. Not seeing them meant that they weren't really here.

It was only after the two females left that the three foxes appeared again, happily jumping on each other and messing with Kurama. Cana began playing with them as well and soon has the three so riled up that Naruto couldn't even go to sleep. Cana suffered just as much as he did, though. She had them so hyped up that they kept her up as well, begging to play just one more game of whatever it was she had been playing with them.

"I'll throw you out the window if you don't settle down," Naruto finally screamed at it.

"So you believe we're real now?"

Naruto tried to figure out which one it was that had spoken. With his eyes half-way closed it wasn't possible.

"Just lay down and I'll kill you three tomorrow."

With that he turned and forced himself to sleep.

**Three Days Ago**

Cana had named all three of them. Well she actually named one, Kurama named another, and the last one already had a name. The three foxes were named Cornelia, Kojoro, and Ikari. Naruto hadn't had a single thing to do with the names, but Kurama had named the male Ikari and the mother, whom Naruto was still unbelieving to be real, had named the last female Kojoro. Naruto thought it a little odd that one would be named Kojoro, who, in mythology, had acted as a maid that was around the ages of twelve or fourteen, but then decided that it was probably pure coincidence.

But life did go on and even after the little things had been named they still didn't vanish. They remained, pestering him for the entire day. It did get a little better after Naruto had an argument with Kurama about what was real and what wasn't real. That had been a sight to see if someone could peer into his mind.

"They're real, you moron."

"No they're not! They're not real. You had sex with a plushy and had three baby foxes! They're not real."

"Naruto, you _do _realize that my form I take outside your body isn't real, right? If you say that they're not real, you should also be implying that I'm not real! Do you think anything through?"

"You had sex with a plushy and had three kids! How does that even work?"

"Very easily! I stick my dick in her pussy, pump her a million times, and ejaculate inside her, and then twenty-four hours later she gives birth. That's how babies are made."

"It takes longer than twenty-four hours to have a kid of any kind."

"That you know of. There's a bug out there that can do it in twenty-four hours."

"Prove it."

Rather than say anything on the matter Naruto was shoved out of his own mind and instantly attacked by the small fox. The two rolled into a fight that had Cana cheering on Kurama with the three baby foxes looking confused on who to cheer for. The kitchen was destroyed as a result of the fight, much to Naruto's dismay. It took the two of them three hours to get it fixed and cleaned up. Naruto had summoned up eight clones to help him get things repaired.

When the mess was cleaned up, Naruto and Cana had sat down to snuggle and just spend time together. It was all ruined by the three baby foxes that decided to ruin the moment and lay between them. Kurama joined them and plopped down on Naruto's chest, grinning like mad as his host just stared angrily at the small foxes that Cana had decided to play with again. If this was what it was like to have kids, Naruto doubted he'd ever have any. These little guys were noisy, and never stopped moving. They thankfully didn't make messes.

It wasn't for several more hours before they decided to go out and get something to eat was when another thing happened. Naruto realized that he had been stepping over the small foxes, much to his own dismay as he didn't want to believe that they were really there, but he was starting to see that he did need to maybe believe that they were actually real. So on that note, he decided to get something for the three that wasn't ham or bologna. He took some orders from Kurama and then headed off.

They ran into Laki, Romeo, and Macao at the restaurant and decided to eat with them.

"When are you going back out?"

Romeo's question had Naruto licking his lips. His meds were running out. He needed to get some more soon. "I'm not sure," he answered softly. "I might be heading out before the end of the week once we get things set up at my place." Cana chuckled into her drink. She hadn't missed that he was actually talking about Kurama and the small foxes there. He'd probably have to leave that little guy behind. "How are your classes coming with your magic? Got anything worth showing?"

"No."

"You'll get it one of these days," Macao cut in, patting his son on the back. "How come Kurama hasn't been coming to the guild as of late. I mean you two have made your appearances, but what's up with Kurama?"

"He's sick," Cana answered quickly. She popped an ice cube in her mouth and eyed Laki. "When are you going to find a man, Laki?"

"When are you going to stop drinking?" Cana popped another ice cube in her mouth and bit in to it. "There aren't that many guys I'm interested in. I'm still young. I'm not that interested looking for a guy right now."

"You should seriously think about looking for a guy. I'm sure Jet wouldn't mind taking you out on a date. Go ask him."

Naruto started laughing. Romeo was giggling at the two girls as they talked about relationships and all things guys. Macao tapped Naruto's shoulder and said, "So are you going to go do some work tomorrow?"

"No. I need to speak with Levi tomorrow and have the book finished. She said she'd have it all together by tomorrow and that any errors I had would be pointed out for me so I can hopefully defend them." He sipped his tea and then sighed explosively as the waiter brought their meals. "What do you guys know about a group called Trinity Raven?"

Macao rubbed his chin in thought. "Not much. I know that they appeared when Erza, Natsu, Lucy, and Gray had their fight at the Tower of Heaven. Did Makarov not tell you?"

"No."

Macao shrugged. He didn't really know why Naruto wouldn't know about it, but he had an idea if it was the same reason for why he wasn't being told about Gajeel and Juvia. If that was the case, did he actually just screw up?

"Cana," Naruto whispered while standing up. "Can you take the food home for me? I need to go for a walk."

"Sure."

He left and ventured outside. When he was far enough away he touched the side of his head and winced. He could feel something wrong inside his head. Kurama felt nothing wrong but maintained their mental link for fear of a small PTSD moment. He didn't need any of those right now. He hadn't had one lately and he really didn't need to have one now or in a damn public place. He'd sooner have one on a mountain somewhere.

He needed answers though. He knew where the Magic Council contact/client was. He could easily get some answers from him. That didn't seem like the smart thing to do either. What he really wanted was answers on a way to deal with his PTSD for Cana's sake. He'd done some research on how these soldiers handled the kind of situation he had. When medicine didn't work, having a reason to continue on and have a sense of purpose in their lives to maintain themselves often did. It helped, but Naruto wasn't sure on that. His life had been about killing and moving on. Fighting in a war where he lost a lot of friends really hurt him.

He walked aimlessly for hours before he found the client/contact standing outside the guild. He held a file under his arm and kept his gaze firmly locked on him. The blond clicked his teeth while walking towards him. He wouldn't be here without good reason.

They stood in silence for a few minutes before the file was thrust in his chest. Naruto flipped through it and snapped it shut after a moment. "He told you about my questions?"

"You're pretty easy to read." He took the file back and then clicked his teeth together. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think you could handle this. I understand that you're meds are getting dangerously low. We can't have someone like you going on a rampage through the city with your kind of power. These people finally struck big. They aimed for a big name mage in the council. He's okay, but he's going to have some scars. They didn't know that we had selected him for the new position, so when this happened they realized their mistake."

"And the council didn't take too kindle to this."

"Under normal circumstances we'd have a team from different guilds brought together to deal with them. They're a powerful bunch, but no one has the money to pay a multiple guilds and its members at the same time for a fight this big."

"So you'd rather just pay me with meds and some cash to get this done?" Naruto ran a hand through his hair. He didn't need to take this job, but it might give him something to do for a bit. "Give me a couple of days. I've got my own issues to take care of right now."

"That's understandable. Contact me when you're ready and we'll make things official."

The Jinchuuriki watched him go and waited until he was completely out of sight before he left as well. Once he was home he found Cana passed out on the couch with all three foxes sleeping on her. He smiled and grabbed a blanket and covered her up. One of the foxes, Ikari, looked up at him and blinked its eyes several times before going back to sleep. Kurama was the only one awake and seemed to know what was going on with him. **"So we're going out soon?"**

His host said nothing and went to bed.

**Two Days Ago**

Max was freaking out at the sight before him. Naruto raised Kojoro and put her in his arms. "She's real?" He asked again.

"Yep."

Naruto had decided that enough was enough and it was time to deal with the mess now. Max was the one who sold them the white fox and was now going to be subjected to the randomness that had surrounded Naruto and Cana. Cana didn't care. As far as she was concerned, these little guys had been real since day one. As to how they had been created… she didn't know nor did she care. She only cared about the fact that they were here and fun to play with.

"So you got anything to say on this?" Max was lost as he held the little fox that just couldn't be here. Ikari and Cornelia were sitting on the couch of Naruto's home. She seemed quite happy playing with both of them. "You might want to check your product just in case."

There was no way that Kurama could breathe life in to an inanimate object. He might be an all-powerful being that was rivaled by no one, but he couldn't do something like this with just a plushy.

Naruto had spent the better part of the day getting things for the small foxes with Cana's help. Naruto wasn't ready to show them off to the guild just yet. He still needed some time before he could show them off. Sadly, things were getting pretty hard on him and he knew that Kurama needed to return to the guild, which meant that they'd be bringing the small foxes with them. His only real fear had to be explaining the part of where they came from. There was no way anyone would miss this and what they had given Kurama as a _mate _for him to have someone.

Max put Kojoro down and looked at Kurama with a brow raised. "How?"

"**Didn't you learn anything about the birds and the bees from Naruto's books?" **

"That's not what I mean? It's a plushy and you knocked it up? How?'

"**Life always finds a way." **

"Somehow, I highly doubt that."

Cana started laughing as she continued to play with Cornelia. The small female fox yapped away, chasing after the small tassel with extreme prejudice. She was definitely going to get that thing with the way she was clawing at the ground and jumping for it. She acted more like a cat than an actual fox.

"I need to go check the other products to make sure that's not possible with them." Max hurriedly ran out of the house to go and make sure the other products were safe.

Naruto gave his tenant a strange look and the Bijuu licked his lips with a smile. He knew that Naruto wasn't buying this. It'd only be a matter of time before Naruto figured things out. With the mental link they shared Naruto could easily figure things out without much problem. It was a trust thing. Naruto wouldn't pry into Kurama's life when they were separate in what few times they were, and Kurama wouldn't do something he didn't like. This didn't really count since it was proof of the fact that they needed to settle down.

With Max gone, Cana sighed and lost her top. She sat down at the table and sighed blissfully as Naruto walked behind her and started to massage her back and shoulders. She moaned lightly and put her head on the table as he continued to work her sore muscles. It had been her idea to go get them stuff and let Max know about this. She had spent hours just figuring out what to get them all. One of the main things that they had decided to get them first was collars. They got matching collars, black, so that they could be identified easily with their names written on them and the symbol for the guild on them.

"Food?"

Cana looked up and laughed as she started scratching Cornelia's ears. "What do you want?"

"Steak!" All three of them exclaimed.

"We can make that happen," Naruto told them. Kurama cackled madly as he ran off to get some paper and a pen to write down what he wanted, how he wanted, and when he wanted. He tried explaining the different types of steak to the small foxes but they only register meat as a type of food, so it wasn't possibly to explain it to them. "You think Max is going to worry himself to death over this?"

"Of course." She sat up and put her back against Naruto's chest. "Are you cooking?"

"Of course. You wanna invite anyone over?"

"We could always have Levi come over. You haven't seen here today." Kurama grumbled something from his spot while the three foxes continued to not understand the difference between a sirloin steak and a T-bone steak. It wasn't their fault. "You know that feeding them a steak probably isn't the best thing in the world? Kurama probably put them up to it."

"I know he did. This is why he's getting a smaller one than the others." Cana laughed and kissed him. "I'll start cooking. You go get Levi if you want. Or I can send Kurama."

"We could just eat alone."

"And why, pray tell, would I do that?" Cana put her thumbs in her jeans and brought them close to the button. "I just realized I've never eaten food with you while we were both naked."

"Sounds like fun."

"**Sounds like a reason for me to not want to eat the food." **The two chuckled and faced the Bijuu as he was tackled by Ikari. **"Do that again, Minion Three, and I will show you why I'm still your better."**

"Give it a rest, Kurama. They already have their names." Naruto smiled and dropped his pants. Cana whistled and Kurama ran. Naruto wore boxers, thankfully, but he didn't like the idea of him cooking in just his boxers. Honestly, some people could be so cruel.

**Yesterday**

Naruto downed his beer and let the burning sensation wash over him. This stuff would get him drunk for sure, but the effects would easily be washed away if he didn't drink anything for an extended period of time. It was one of the few reasons Cana had for not liking him. It sucked when the person you were drinking with could either outdrink you or had a metabolism so good that anything you drank was gone in a few minutes.

He was only drinking because things had gone bad at his home. They had steaks last night, which had been very good. He wasn't the best cook, but he could work a few things. Ikari got a stomachache from eating too much and got sick as a result. The little guy was instantly rushed to a veterinary clinic for a checkup. They made sure he remained quiet and explained what was wrong with him to the doctor they got. She had said that it just ate too much and would be okay, much to Kurama's relief.

When they got home, things returned to normal until Cana suddenly got angry at him. He wasn't even sure what he did and was quickly kicked out of his own home for something he didn't even know he did. Kurama got to remain home, laughing hysterically as a result of this. It wasn't until Naruto ended up at the guild that Kurama decided to let him know that Cana was on her period. Naruto had sort of forgotten about that and decided to make the most of it tomorrow. But this presented him with another problem: He wasn't going to be able to go home until tomorrow and needed a place to stay.

Lucy had flat out told him no. Mirajane said she'd think about it, but he figured that'd be a no go as well. Cana might have even more of a reason to hurt him if she found out he slept over at his ex's place.

He checked with almost everyone present at the guild before Happy told him he was a sorry loser for getting kicked out of his own place. Half drunk, he had started crying and started drinking at a higher rate.

The whole day had been a bad rollercoaster for him. Ikari got sick, Cana was on her period and being very violent, and he was kicked out of his place for the night. Cana said he could return when he remembered what he did. Whatever he did he doubted he'd remember it. Maybe it was the doctor they had? She did have an awesome rack and wavy blond hair. He couldn't remember her eye color though. That escaped him.

He drank for hours before Makarov walked up to him and sat down on the bar. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

The Jinchuuriki laughed lightly. He wasn't paying attention. "Good." Naruto reached out to pat him and accidently knocked him off the edge. A drunken Naruto had no idea on his own strength. "What? Give me back leprechaun!" He also turned into a drunk that couldn't remember one thing from another and usually ended up saying things that made no sense. Naruto was confusing drunk that only got worse with the amount of liquor he ingested.

Makarov groaned as he pulled himself up on the bar. "Can you stop drinking for five seconds so your system clears and I can speak with you?"

Naruto started crying and fell over clutching the bottle he was drinking from. It was so strong that Romeo was knocked out just by a sniffing it. All other members backed off, not wanting to get within five feet of the strange liquor. Naruto's crying grew louder and louder until the entire guild had backed away from him a good distance. He was very loud.

"Naruto! Pull yourself together."

The blond just continued to cry and started banging his head on the floorboard. It dented, cracked, and then he broke through the wood floor and was banging his head on the concrete that shielded the basement. For an hour he just banged his head on the concrete, cracking it, and just bleeding all over the place. Everyone knew about his massive healing ability, but some had never seen it in action. Only a few people watched the entire thing and marveled at the fact that after an hour of bashing his head in and bleeding all over the place, he wasn't dead.

Naruto continued to drink long into the night and soon found a place to sleep up in the rafters. Kurama checked in with him and told him that Cana was worried about him and had forgotten what she was angry with him about. Upon learning that Naruto was heavily intoxicated, he gave up and cut the link to his mind. Better to not let it spread. Naruto was probably going to spend the entire night calling out for his tenant and just being random. Chances were high that something bad might happen, but Kurama really didn't care at the moment. He had to take care of Ikari.

**Ten Minutes Ago (Present Day)**

A headache hit him and Naruto moaned pitifully as everything he did came back at him.

He wasn't sure what time it was, but he knew he needed a shower. The smell of wood, beer, blood, and sweat wafted from him. It made him want to gag at the moment. The last time he had even smelt like this it had been during the war. Not something he wanted to remember or needed remember.

"_You there?" _

There was a long amount of silence. Kurama had obviously cut the mental link.

The screams and fighting of what few members were already present got his attention and he looked down, blurry eyed and groaning. His head was really killing him. They were talking about something, screaming more often than not. Naruto missed what they were talking about. His head hurt so much that he didn't even register anything with them. The blond couldn't truly handle a hangover of any kind.

He yawned and stood up, stretching and then scratching his back.

The door was thrown open and Natsu walked in with Lucy, Erza, Gray, a woman in blue and white, and a man in black clothing. Naruto locked his gaze on him. The man really did look familiar. He looked like one of the men that the Magic Council had told him was impossible to find. If his memory served him correctly, this man was Gajeel Redfox, the man that had hurt Levi. Why would he be here?

"I'm here for another job." Gajeel screamed out. The members present groaned and pointed at the board. "So who's going to be my handler for the day?"

"I'm not doing it this time," Natsu grumbled. "I'm never teaming up with you again."

"No one asked you to."

"I'm teaming up with him again," Erza announced. "Makarov's orders were quite clear."

Lucy smiled nervously as Gajeel gave both girls a predatorily grin. The blue and white dressed teen fidgeted with her dress as she looked between Lucy and Gray. She opened her mouth to speak, but Gajeel cut her off. "Let's get another good job. Something that actually involves fighting this time around. I can't stand your pussy-footing jobs. Some of these make no sense at all."

Erza, Natsu, and Gray suddenly went very rigid. Juvia, Lucy, and Gajeel didn't notice it until the entire guild had gone deathly silent. There was an intense weight brought down on the two former Phantom Lord members and slowly but surely they turned into the burning crimson orbs of a blond haired male with whisker marks. Erza, Gray, and Natsu refused to turn around. The aura of death was so strong that Lucy eventually passed out from whatever nightmare she had been subjected to. Others followed, such as Romeo, Laki, and Happy, but all others weren't that fortunate.

"Erza," Gray asked quietly. "Is that Naruto?"

She balled her fists up and slowly turned around. Naruto was indeed right behind them. Small flecks of red-like flames licked off the side of him, as if trying to form an aura of some form. The rage on his face barely gave them a hint to the inner rage he had to be going through right now. He looked made enough to murder without thought or pause.

"Na-"

"What is he doing here?" Naruto cut her off, pointing at the now worried form of Gajeel. The man was a giant among them, but somehow he looked smaller as he slowly took one step back. Naruto's eyes locked on him. "Stay."

Gajeel nodded dumbly. Naruto might as well have been god at that very moment. Just looking at him right now was enough to make Gajeel want to quit and runaway. His pride could do him no good if he was dead. Better to fight and runaway to cause intense pain another day. Or however that saying went.

"Makarov invited him to the guild and he accepted, along with Juvia." Juvia answered innocently. Naruto turned his gaze on her and she instantly flashed him. He looked away, more so to keep his gaze on Gajeel. The man hadn't even budged. He had to have balls of steel.

"He's a part of our guild?" Naruto repeated it as though he were speaking with an idiot child. His power only seemed to sore higher as if his anger was about to know no bounds. Natsu even took a step back. His fists shook so violently that he knocked over a glass on the table beside him. "Why?"

"Makarov's idea," Macao said, slowly standing and getting ready for a fight. This was too soon. Naruto couldn't see Gajeel now. He was obviously about to strike him down. "We didn't tell you because we figured that you'd hurt him for what he did to Levi."

"You knew?" His head craned slowly in Macao's direction. "Who else knew he was here?" No one spoke up. Mirajane made a mad dash for something in the back. Naruto either didn't notice or didn't care. "And we let him in for what reason?" Naruto's voice went dangerously quiet.

The air temperature began to drop noticeable, yet everyone began to sweat. Naruto's rage boiled over and with one shaky fist he lunged for Gajeel. Natsu tackled him from the side, deflecting what might have been a clean kill in the form of a punch for Gajeel's face. The blow and two males whizzed by the Iron Dragon Slayer's face and sent him running for cover. In less than a fraction of a second the doors were shut, blocking his escape, and Naruto had returned with Natsu still holding on to his arm.

"I. Said. Stay."

"I am so sorry for what I've done! Please forgive me!" Rational thinking was out the window. It was all about surviving now. He dropped to his knees and looked ready to beg.

"No. No you're not. Not yet."

The entire guild came to life in that moment. They rushed the angry blond and dog pilled him. Under the mass of bodies, Naruto remained standing upright, even with Reedus at the very crown of the pile of bodies. Levi made a mad jump for Gajeel, grabbed him, and hauled him back with her ungodly strength she had mustered and threw him at the furthest wall away from Naruto. She ran for him and stood protectively over him. She wasn't doing this for him, she was doing it for herself. It was time to extract some revenge via bribes.

(-)

Cana was awoken with a start. "What do you want, Kurama?"

"It's Mirajane!" The card using mage sat up straight and found a crystal ball of sorts in front of her. Mirajane was in the center of its form. Kurama was holding it up and looking extremely panicked about something. "Get over here right now! Naruto's gone insane and you need to control your man!"

"Why would I wanna do that if he's gone insane?"

"He knows that Gajeel is working with us! He's trying to kill him!"

Cana blinked and Kurama began to whimper. Killing Gajeel might make her feel better, but it would mean a lot of trouble for her boyfriend. And Kurama didn't seem to like it either. "I'll be there in five minutes!"

"Make it two minutes!" Her image faded. The last thing that Cana heard or saw was a loud bang followed by a squeal of pain.

(-)

Natsu hung on for dear life just like everyone else. Naruto was a lot stronger than what they believed him to be. He was actually still walking with a half a dozen members trying to hold him down and several more using magic to try and keep him from getting close to Gajeel as he cowered in fear behind a small, blue haired girl named Levi. If it weren't for the intense moment going on right now, they might have thought it funny that he was being protected by the very woman he beat up not too long ago.

Naruto howled with rage as they continued to get in his way. He reached behind his form and grabbed Natsu with one hand. The teen held on as best he could, but sadly, he couldn't do it. Naruto tore him off his back and hurled him into the ground. All the spells used to detain him finally grew on him as well and with a single step he broke free of everything. He stepped on the pink haired teen and walked straight at Gajeel.

Elfman shoulder tackled him from the side, but Naruto didn't even budge. One eye turned on Elfman and the large man was all for a hasty retreat when Naruto poked him with one finger. The large male sailed backwards, striking the wall with so force that he left a fine imprint of his body in it before falling out unconscious on the ground.

Natsu surged to his feet and punched Naruto with all his might square in the back. Naruto stopped walking and turned slowly to face the pink haired boy. Naruto's hand blurred and Natsu was suddenly back in the ground like he'd never managed to get up. The pink haired teen didn't take it lying down and got back to his feet. Naruto continued walking as the pink haired boy continued to wail on him. With his fist covered in fire he punched Naruto one more time in the back of the head. This got a reaction out of him. Naruto turned and kicked him hard in the side. Natsu was in the center of the guild hall one moment and the next there was a hole in the wall.

The angry Jinchuuriki turned back to Gajeel and then was frozen in a block of ice. A near naked Gray stood off to the side with his hands on the ground.

He rose and eyed Naruto. The blond seemed to be even stronger when he was angry or just not understand when he was trapped as he turned his head in the ice, making it crack. His eyes narrowed and then he broke free without moving. Before any of the shards of ice could truly go flying on their random trajectories, Naruto shoved Gray up against the wall and punched twice to knock him out. He tossed him over Levi and Gajeel's head. He struck the back wall and then slumped to the ground.

Erza ran up in a heavy suit of armor, her herculean armor to be precise, and slammed the shield bits in place. A greenish barrier appeared in front of her and expanded the whole guild hall. Curious, the blond walked up and touched the array, more amazed at the fact that it actually prevented him from getting through than the way her armor looked.

"You can't get through this array, Naruto," she explained heatedly. "Now you are going to listen to reason!"

"Not so tough now, are you?!" Gajeel spoke up. A quick glare and he was back to cowering behind Levi.

"We've already called Makarov. He's on his way. Cana is also on her way." Erza took a deep breath and reigned in some of her anger over this. She should have known Naruto was here. She had been one of the last few people to leave the guild last night. But she never saw him leave. She went to the bathroom maybe once during the night before she left. She should have checked the place over before leaving and made sure he wasn't here when they got her. "Now let's calm down."

The blond pulled his hand away from the array and looked around. His anger did seem to subside a little.

"This won't stop me." He inhaled deeply and then put his hand back on the array. Erza grunted and forced more of her magical power into the array. Naruto was strong, but she didn't want to think about him using that glowing form in here. That long range attack he had that he fired from his hand was on par with Jupiter, if not stronger. She barely withstood one shot from that and it could fire every fifteen minutes. "Impressive, but it's useless when," Naruto vanished, but his voice didn't falter or slip as he blinked right behind Erza, "I can teleport right through it."

Erza turned too late to face him and took a hard blow to the side of the head. Her entire body jerked sideways and was introduced into the floor.

Not many people remained standing after that. Only Levi and Gajeel remained. Juvia was still standing, but he hadn't paid her any mind. He knew what she did, but she at least did it without roughing Lucy up. Besides, she was flashing him with a nice rack.

"Naruto!" Cana screamed as she busted in the door. "Stop!" She ran past him and stood beside Levi. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you about him, but you have to understand that we didn't tell you because we were afraid of this happening!"

"So you knew as well?"

He stuck one hand in his pocket. He didn't feel betrayed. A rational part of his mind, probably Kurama trying to coax him out of his angry moment, told him that he could understand why this had been done. Levi was close to Naruto. He thought of her as a little sister. She was hurt and the man responsible was behind her. All rights were placed on him knocking the guy down. The part that suffered through war was the strongest part of him just telling him to kill him and move on. Violence solved everything.

Natsu ran at him from the side and was grabbed up by the blond before he could lay a finger on him. Naruto had him by his throat and turned to look at him once. Natsu growled and hammered away on Naruto's arm as he went blue in the face.

"Levi, stand aside."

"No."

She stood her ground.

The blond looked confused by this. Something was backwards here.

"Levi, stand aside and let me kill him. He hurt you. He needs to pay."

"You would kill him?" Mirajane asked from behind the wreckage of the bar. "Even after we've forgiven him?"

"Yes." Mirajane looked hurt. Naruto said that with such certainty. Almost like he was completely okay with it and it was natural. "I won't ask again, Levi. Stand aside."

"No."

The blond growled and shoved her aside. She fell but got up quickly. Naruto was already on Gajeel and held him in his free arm off the ground. The tall teen kicked his legs out as he tried to find something to stand on. Naruto's fiery red eyes bore right through him. Gajeel felt small when he looked into them; like he had returned to being a child that was frightened and alone after his dragon left him. Sure he had been a bit of a prick, but he had been something to him.

Levi attached herself to Naruto's arm as he began strangling the two Dragon Slayers. Natsu looked like he was about to die from a lack of oxygen.

"Naruto," Levi screamed, pounding on his forearm. "Release him! Release him right now!"

"Why? So he can hurt you again? No. He needs to pay."

"Naruto!" Makarov's booming voice made him release Natsu. The pink haired teen coughed and fought to get every ounce of air back in his system. "Release him this instant. You can't kill him. He's done his time."

"No!" Gajeel began tear up. "He has to answer for what he did! To Jet! To Droy! To Lucy! And to Levi! I want to see him on his knees as he begs for forgiveness in front of me! He needs to pay!"

"_Even I can tell that hatred is spreading. I wanted to do something about it… but I don't know what… but I believe… that someday the day will come when people truly understand one another! If I can't find the answer, it will be up to you to do it!" _

Naruto blinked and the voice was gone. Jiraiya had said those very words to him.

He growled and looked at the Dragon Slayer in his hands. Nothing really seemed to change from one world to the next. People fought and died for power, land, and money. They often cared very little for the person next to them, and would throw them away at the drop of a hate. Gajeel truly reminded Naruto of someone that would do that. He spoke about needing money earlier. His former guild had been disbanded and so he turned to a stronger guild for money. He was no different from…

"Naruto, release him this instant!" Makarov threw a stretched fist at the blond. His fist fazed through him. Naruto appeared on the other side of the guild hall, still holding Gajeel. "Is killing him going to make things better, Naruto? Will it make this guild better? Will you feel better knowing that a former enemy turned ally is now dead?"

"Come on, Naruto. Release him."

The blond shook his head and growled at him again. "Cana, he needs to die for what he's done."

"And then what?" Mirajane walked around the broken bar. "What will you do then?"

"Naruto, you need to calm down. Think about what you're doing? He's not going to hurt anyone here at the guild. He promised." Makarov didn't move.

"Promised?" He spat that out like a sour plume. Naruto bristled at the very word. "Promises are always broken. People break them all the time."

"So you break your own promises?"

That cut him deep. Yes. He broke a few promises. Maybe even all of his promises back home. He didn't mean to. Things just happened and he couldn't keep them.

"Naruto. Let it go. Just let it go."

Naruto hold was loosened, but he kept Gajeel suspended in the air. He seemed unsure of what he was doing. Less focused maybe? He shook his head as if he were waging a mini war inside his head with what to do. When he finally snapped from it, a look of pure determination spread across his face. "I won't kill you." Gajeel had never heard such sweet words in his life. "But I will not let you go without a warning."

"Does this count as a warning," he asked.

Naruto growled and his red eyes burned a little brighter. "If you ever harm this guild again, or its members, I will peel your flesh from your bones. Now apologize to Levi and the others that you hurt."

Naruto tossed him at the floor. He threw him rather hard. He hit with a resounding thud and cracked the floor. Blood dripped from a cut on his head. He was too scared to offer up a snide comment. He was going to behave for now. He scrambled over to Levi, getting on his hands and knees and begged for her forgiveness. She wasn't going to mess around this time. She could easily haunt him later and accepted his apology. He ended up apologizing to everyone in the guild, including Makarov. As soon as he was finished, Erza scooped him up and took off. Naruto just watched him go until he was out of his sight.

"My office. Now."

Naruto didn't argue. He followed and the door was shut.

"I understand why you did what you did. I betrayed your trust. But I wanted to make sure that you didn't go off and kill him right on the spot when I took him in. If you had actually found out about him when I took him in, would you have done this?"

"Possibly," Naruto answered quietly.

Suddenly, he didn't seem like some overpowering being, but more like a lost child that just didn't understand right from wrong. Makarov found it hard to lecture him when he got like this. It wasn't the first time. Before he had started getting medical treatment for this, Naruto had been worse. Anyone that was late for anything he went after them to find them. It was the real deal with his PTSD. He became paranoid and jumped at shadows all the time. It was a terrible time for them all.

"He was ordered to do what he did. You know how to follow orders during war time, right? That's what he did. He was simply following orders."

"You don't have to lie to me. I'm not stupid. I did my own research. He did what he did to Levi to send a message to us." That put a bit of fear in Makarov. What else did Naruto know about? "I can't escape who I am. I can't control this. I don't… I don't know what to do right now. I'm scared."

"I wish I could simply tell you to get over it, but I know that's not possible. I wish it was that easy."

"Compartmentalization would be easy if they had trained us on how to do it. How do these people do it? My world is so much simpler to this one. This is one of the reasons I wish I could just go back to that life."

"People die, Naruto. In war there are only two rules: People die, and you can't change it. I know that you have a fear of getting close to people. For so long you were afraid of relationships. I was happy when you were dating Mirajane. And then you saddened me when you broke it off. People die, Naruto. I know that you know that. You may never be able to face it. I'm sorry to say this, but it happens. Everyone dies and you can't change it." Makarov licked his lips. "You can't be controlled by your past, Naruto. You're better than that. You dreamed of a world without violence like your master did. You made it happen by living through everything that was thrown at you. Everyone came together to fight an enemy that was after you. You saved them. You are a hero."

"Not everyone got off scot free because of me. They trusted me, but I lied to them and used them. I manipulated them for my own uses and sent them to their deaths. I failed them! I had to do things I never would have done. I survived while they died. How am I a hero if I couldn't even save them? Heroes always save their friends and family members. I don't want to fail. I won't let anyone here die! I will kill anyone who threatens this guild or my family."

Naruto's anger returned, but he cooled it, calmed down, and began shaking his head.

"I wish I had died instead. I can't do this."

Makarov grabbed him up and pulled him into a hug. "Don't say things like that. Death isn't the easy way out. Think of everyone that would be hurt if you died. You said that Shizune was still alive. Wouldn't she be hurt if you had died back then? What about that Hanabi girl? She thought you were a hero. Living is the hardest thing to do. I will walk alongside you, Naruto, and help you back on the path you need to get on if you ever ask me for help. Now go home."

"Are you kicking me out of the guild?"

"No. You can't control this. I understand why you do what you do." The old master released him. "If you don't feel like going home, your client came by and offered a job for you if you wanted it. I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I believe you should take the job. It'll give you a chance to clear your head."

Naruto could only nod weakly as he turned to leave. He stopped at the door and put his head against it. He felt like he had failed again. If he had killed Gajeel he felt like he might had corrected a few wrongs and made the world a better place. He grumbled something and flickered out of the room. He was going to take the job.


	9. Holiday Special

I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

From the minds of the HumanWiki and Myevltwin.

Exceeding Expectations

Anything you read in this fic should not be recreated or taken serious. If you find this stuff offensive, do not read this fic. You have been warned.

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Yes, I am fan of Red vs Blue.

Christmas Special

"Hello! My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"**And my name is Kurama. Just Kurama!"**

"And I'm Cana."

"And we're here to talk about that special time of the year that is now upon us."

"**Yep! It's that time of year again: Time to arrest children!"**

"What? No it's not! We're here to celebrate the holidays. The author realized he wasn't going to get this chapter done fast enough to add this at the end and wanted to give a present to the readers that have so patiently been waiting for an update."

"**Some update their getting. They have no idea what the fuck is going on in this chapter because he'd rather work on the other stories that don't involve me being a badass that teams up with you to kill people."**

"Use your strength sort of counts, doesn't it?"

"**Do you like me in the other stories?" **Naruto grumbled something that he didn't catch. **"Thought so. The other versions of you in the stories hate me. Then again, we never came to understanding and both want to strangle each other. Me more than you. My gift to you in those stories: A good strangling."**

"I will poison your next meal."

"Why are you guys getting off topic? The idea of this was to talk about the joys of the holidays and what they bring for people," Cana pointed out.

"**Yeah. Like presents to bad kids and jail time for the good ones."**

"No one goes to jail on holidays." Two sets of eyes landed on the female card user. "Okay… so some people go to jail. But Santa doesn't take people to jail or turn them in."

"Why are we talking Santa? We're talking about holidays. We don't wanna offend people."

"**I do. What are they going to do? Throw me in jail? I'm a fictional character. When was the last time you saw anyone go to jail that was a fictional character?"**

"Moving on," Cana said, smiling brightly as she did. "We know that the author and his beta-reader have been working hard to get out the next chapter and really wanted to add a holiday special for it as his way of saying thanks for reading and reviewing to his stories. Mostly this one since I'm in it."

"Wow. That was rather cold."

"**Why aren't you wearing a skimpy holiday outfit? Hey, author dude! Put her in one!"**

"He's not going to do it."

"**Says you, Cana. Oh well. We can always imagine. Imagination power."**

"Never say that again please." Naruto rubbed the bridge of his noise before continuing. "As we were saying before we got off topic. We know that you guys are waiting for an actual update that doesn't involve this, but sadly, we've been working on other stories. Part of the reason is because the mind of the author is a little weird. He and his buddy-"

"**You mean his Overlord?"**

"-have wanted to bring back the other story that recently came back, and that was what they were doing. Though right now they don't intend to work on any others except for this one and the other three. We, and the others from those series, all want to say thanks for reading them too. It makes his lazy ass work more when he actually gets nice things."

"**That and not having to work over the holidays would make them come out faster. He's going to have work for a while now though. Poor bastard. Oh well. I don't care. I feel no sympathy at all for him. As I'm sure his beta-reader doesn't as well."**

"Is this a holiday special, or a piss-off-the-author special?"

"Cana, this is a holiday special that has a double meaning for him to get his ass in gear and crank out more chapters for the stories. He's one man working on four stories in total. Give him some space. I mean, it's not like threatening him works."

"**Threatening works. You're just not doing it right. Violence and threatening solves every problem in the world. I think that's why Santa gives the bad kids cool toys and the good kids' jail time."**

"Again you say that? Why do you think that?"

"**Naruto, think about where we're from. Bad kids get coal. Coal is a sturdy object. Coal, when put in socks or pillow-casings, makes blunt weapons that can kill people. Don't you find it a little odd that bad kids' get something that can be used to continue doing bad things? While good kids get things that break at the slightest nudge? When was the last sturdy toy you got for the holidays?"**

"I never got toys. I'm an orphan with you inside of me. I'm pretty sure that the gift givers of the holidays didn't think too kindly on me with you inside me with your past actions."

"**I was being controlled, damn it. And what are you talk about? You got presents all the time."**

"Kunai and shuriken don't count. I can't play with them."

"**Yes you can. You just have to think outside the box."**

"I like the box. The box is safe. I felt safe inside my box. I want my box back."

"I'm dating you for what reason?"

"I'm awesome and bragging rights? What other reason would you need? I mean I treat you right. I buy you things."

"What'd you get me for the holidays then? We didn't do anything on Thanksgiving. Why are we doing this one of all the other holidays out there?"

"**We'd do Halloween but I think it'd be over to fast because I would just get bigger and scare everyone shitless by flattening the town with a tail. Thanksgiving is out the question because I'd eat everyone as well. And as for Valentine's Day; I didn't have a mate and we didn't have the story out at that time."**

"What about Fourth of July?"

"I'm not allowed near explosives. That's why."

"What was the point of this special? We sure didn't do anything special other than stand around and talk in the freezing wind and snow."

"We all just wanted to say are thanks for the many people that are reading the stories. So from all of us to you; Happy-"

"**Fucking!"**

"-Holidays!"

Before the two could turn and hound on the small red fox, the sound of a whip cracking and someone screaming broke through the howling winds.

"What was that?" Cana asked.

"**Looks like Overlord is working again. Maybe now we'll get to see more chapters."**

"Not the Goofy suit! Not the Goofy suit! Not the Goofy suit! Please don't do it!" There was a loud scream of terror followed by maniacal laughing.

"**Yep! He's working again."**


	10. A Long Long Day

I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

From the minds of the HumanWiki and Myevltwin.

Anything you read in this fic should not be recreated or taken serious. If you find this stuff offensive, do not read this fic. You have been warned.

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 9

"We want you to eliminate the entire guild."

Naruto took a deep breath as he continued his march for the headquarters of the dark guild he was to destroy.

Dark Guilds were a dangerous thing. They were real working assassins for this world. Most of them were united through a front with an alliance of Dark Guilds that worked to do what they were good at. No one challenged them outright. Such a thing was suicidal. They had more members than Light Guilds, weren't about holding back, and used their magic to kill peoples. Light Guilds held back, didn't kill people unless they were left with no alternative, and followed the rules. Dark Guilds didn't follow the rules and some were known to sell out their own comrades if given the choice.

This guild was part of the Dark Guild Alliance called Balam Alliance. They weren't as powerful as smaller guilds that were allied with the Balam Alliance, but neither were they weak. They were strong and to be feared because they were used to taking big jobs and even bigger risks. They reached too high this time around and were now pulling back their fingers from when they reached for the sun. Trying to kill a member of the Magic Council didn't sit well with anyone.

Kurama had stayed behind, but even so the mental link was still in full connection. This was probably the furthest Naruto had ever been away from the little guy in his entire life, despite the fact that he was after all still inside him. The body he had was that of a clone made purely from Kurama's chakra that Naruto used and then gave him control of. Naruto only left him at the house because Cana might need help with the three kits and because he wanted to make sure that she was okay. Rumors had spread shortly before his departure of a team of assassins in the town and he wanted to make sure she was okay. No doubt that Siegrain or whatever his name was had spread information about Naruto and his past actions.

He found the guild in question and pushed the door open. All eyes, thirty-seven pairs of them, turned on him.

Naruto walked past the large crowd of members and towards the board. It was lined with assassination missions and sabotage jobs. Anything that a Guild of the Light usually tried to stop was right here.

"You offering a job, kid?"

"No."

"Looking for a job?"

Naruto turned and with the large sword he cleaved the man in half. The entire guild seemed frozen in shock over watching one of their mates fall to the ground in two separate pieces. The doors slammed shut and the blond put the blood covered tip of the sword on the floor. When the sword touched the ground they came alive. Magic spells were shot off and weapons were brandished. Naruto just stared them all down and then became a blur. He cut through them all and once a large number of them were down it turned from an easy slaughter to a game of Hide-'n-Seek.

Clones guarded the entire building for three full kilometers around their headquarters. There was no escape for them.

Naruto encountered resisted every few rooms that he went in. He went from top to bottom cleaning them out. They offered some resistance, but they couldn't do much to him. They weren't strong. He cut through them with little effort. All the while he felt cold and ashamed of his past actions. What he'd done to Gajeel in front of the others had affected him on some small level. They had all grown a little worried and hardly spoke to him. Cana didn't know how to handle what he'd done.

Two teens came out with spells at the ready. Naruto dashed forward and passed them up. His sword cleaved through the two and they dropped in a bloody heap.

Why had Makarov even really allowed Gajeel to join them anyways? He hurt them. Naruto knew he'd hurt them as well. Everyone just gave him space like he was some sort of a plague. He wanted an answer for why he was suddenly letting this get to him. Was it because they saw a side of him he didn't like showing? He beat the bloody hell out of Elfman when he learned that he had killed Lisanna. He did it in the guild right in front of the others, including Mirajane. He beat the crap out of the others and tried to kill Gajeel for what he'd done. Why did he feel guilty over that?

He reached the bottom level and found no one. A fresh memory and he began heading for the Guild Hall.

He marched slowly and when he got to the location he found a total of eighteen people that were banging on the doors and trying to open them. His last footstep had them turning and staring at him with wide eyes like he was some sort of a deranged serial killer. Covered in blood, a blank look in his single eye, and a large, cleaving weapon in his hand; he looked the part of one.

Some of them started to beg to be spared. The others just turned and made ready to fight him. Gathering chakra to his sword, his mind wondered and he heard, _"This is reality," _echo in his mind. He swung his sword and the entire wall, door, and the eighteen people all vanished in a cloud of debris.

(-)

Kurama touched the side of his head. _**I can't help you with this, Naruto. Find your own answers.**_

Ikari ran up and pounced on him. Kurama was knocked off the table and onto the floor where Kojoro was waiting for him. She pounced him. Ikari yipped from his spot on the table. Cornelia jumped around in circles like an excited cat before jump-running right at her father. She tackled him from the side and began pawing his face, eager to play as well.

Cana began laughing at the sight as she chugged down another beer.

Without Naruto around she was watching over the kits. Kurama stayed for once. Why he stayed was unknown to her. She didn't mind the company. It was rather nice to have Kurama around to entertain the kits. She couldn't handle them on her own. She'd tried that already. They could tell you what they wanted, thanks to whatever genes Kurama had in him that made him talk, so dealing with them wasn't that hard. The only problem was that they were still kids at heart and simply wanted to play. Cana feared for when she had her first child.

Cana let her mind wonder as she watched Kurama play with his children. Did he really have sex with a plushy to make them? That seemed so stupid and impossible. Magic had its limits, damn it! Unless Kurama was God there was no way he had kids with a plushy. Unless everything he touched turned real, in which case, she needed to check some stuff before Naruto got home.

Kojoro's ears swiveled and then the others heard it as well. Cana was clueless until there was a knock at the door. Kurama sniffed the air and then grinned. Cana opened the door and smiled. "Mirajane! What's up?"

"Nothing." She peered inside and saw the three kits on the ground all sitting in a nice row. "Max wasn't joking. Kurama, I didn't know you had it in you."

"**Had what in me? The power to make kits? Of course I have the power. When compared to you humans, I am a God among mortals!" **As if mocking him, Ikari pounced him and drove him into the ground. His feet were planted firmly on the top of his head. **"I'm kicking your ass!"**

Thus began the chase. The other two kits played along and aided their brother in keeping their father away from Ikari.

Cana pulled Mirajane inside and put her on the couch. They watched until Kurama feigned being tired and plopped down in the middle of the Living Room. The kits kept pestering him. One was biting one of his tails while the other two tugged on his ears. Kurama ignored them for the most part as he could handle this. He'd been the laughing stock of all Bijuu and foxes if he couldn't handle this. What would that idiot, Shukaku, say if he saw him taking this like an angry parent?

"They're so cute! Can I have one?"

"No." Cana shoved a glass of water into her friends' hands.

"**Only if I can have one of your children!" **

Mirajane laughed into it as she took a sip from her drink. When he put it like that, it made a lot of sense. They were animals, but they were his family. Kurama stood up and jumped onto the couch. The kits followed and whimpered from below. They wanted to be picked up. What hadn't Kurama thought of that? "Here," Cana said as she hefted the three up onto the couch. Ikari began sniffing Mirajane while Kojoro went and collapsed beside her father. Cornelia settled into Cana's lap and took a nap. "The only one that acts like Kurama is Kojoro." She pointed out said fox.

Mirajane looked at the fox in question and noticed what she meant. She slept the same way that Kurama did. Ikari was scooped up by Mirajane when she caught him trying to drink out of her glass. She laughed and put him in her lap. He looked between the water and her face before he settled down and just rested against her belly.

"So what are their names?"

"This is Cornelia. That's Kojoro. The one you have is Ikari."

"Who named them?"

"I named this one." She proudly pointed to the one named after her mother. Kojoro looked up and suddenly started sniffing the air. "See what I mean? She's curious and just as bad with her mouth as Kurama is." There was a knock at the door and Cana yelled, "Come on in." The door was slowly opened and in popped Lucy. As soon as she saw the kits the door was thrown all the way open and she knelt down in front of the napping pair. Kurama awoke only a moment later because Erza and Natsu stuck their heads in. "Come on in, guys! They don't bite."

"**I bite!"**

"Nipples," Lucy hissed as she smacked him again. The last time he'd been taken to the guild she hit him and he got revenge by removing her bra and biting said flesh. "So is this why you haven't been to the guild for a while? We were starting to worry about you."

"Yeah," Erza noticed that Kojoro had awoken and was glaring at her. Ikari seemed genuinely interested in her. Cornelia was quite content with the loving she was getting from the card user. "They are rather cute. How come they only have white fur? Shouldn't they have red or something?"

"**No. I mated with a white one! White Kitsune are the purest form of our race! These kits will have white fur because I mated with a being that is far more pure than me."**

"So you're a pervert?" Happy accused. Kurama snarled something up at the flying cat as it circled around Natsu's head.

"**You're thinking with that tiny thing you have between your legs and not your head. Pure can mean many things, flying rat. I could be pure of heart or my mate could be pure evil."**

"I thought you said all females _are_ pure evil," Ikari said, alarming the newcomers.

"**Only a few are above that." **

Lucy nodded as if that applied to her. She had long since grabbed up Kojoro and was busy petting her. Kojoro didn't seem to mind. She had her muzzle firmly planted between her breasts as a result of the way she was being held. Kurama just stared at his daughter and wished that was him.

"Can you talk, little one?" Lucy asked her captured kit.

Kojoro snorted and looked up at her. "My name is Kojoro, boob lady."

Lucy smiled nervously. So even these little kits had things that annoyed them.

Erza tried and failed to get Ikari away from Mirajane. Her eyes danced over to Cornelia. The female kit was curled up tight and had Cana staring at the redhead with a smug expression. They were so cute looking, though. She wanted to pet them. Maybe their fur was just as soft as Kurama's? She hoped so. That red bastard never let her pet him but the one time Naruto flung him into her arms for torture. Hopefully his children weren't that bad. She hoped, at least.

"**You do know I can smell you, right?" **Kurama sat up on his haunches and stared at the door. The other kits seemed interested as well. Gajeel walked around the corner and eyed the house nervously. **"He's not here. Even so; that one session you had with him is more than enough for him to not go gunning for you anymore. Well… so long as you don't do anything to harm the guild."**

Gajeel stayed in the doorframe. Naruto was a monster to him. He wouldn't put it past him to be some off-shot of what he and Natsu were. There had to be other people out there that got training from other mythical animals. Naruto could very well be one of them. The guy was absurdly powerful. And he carried around a small fox. Was he his medium or something?

Cana shrugged and then looked at Erza. "I'm winning this year," she said with complete conviction. "So don't bother entering this years' Miss Fairy Tail pageant."

"Why? Because you have Naruto to threaten people that don't vote for you? He doesn't do that."

"**I do that."**

"Hush up, you!" Mirajane smiled. "And I'm winning this go around."

"Uh-huh. Says you and what body?"

Mirajane gestured herself and smiled triumphantly.

Lucy smiled though she was crying inside. Her competition was already getting stiff. She didn't figure that Mirajane and Cana would get involved. She knew Erza was going to be in it, along with Bisca, Levy, and Juvia. Now Mirajane and Cana were getting involved? She saw her chances for winning, falling even further away. Erza had a way about her that could demand water from a stone. Levy was cute and innocent, plus a really bright girl. Bisca was someone that never missed a target and always carried around a gun. Juvia could literally drown you by crying alone and wasn't shy about her own body. Mirajane had looks, had a great personality, an S-Ranked Mage, well known for her photo shoots with Weekly Sorcerer. There wasn't a lot that could be negative about her. And Cana was someone that had no problem wearing next to nothing, drank until she didn't know her face from her elbow, and had no problem flaunting what she had.

What did Lucy have over them all: A big pair of breasts. Her breasts were bigger than everyone else. No one could compare to her. But a huge set of boobs would do her no good in a show where you had to show more than just a little bit of skin. No doubt most of these girls would walk out in string bikinis or something like that. Well, Cana and Mirajane might. Erza seemed too uptight for that. Levy was a kid at heart and might not wear something like that. Bisca, she didn't know her that well. Juvia, she'd try her damnedest to outdo Lucy for whatever reason she had against her.

"**So are you entering this contest, Lucy?"**

Knocked from her momentary dread, she nodded quickly. "Yep. I'm going to win."

"**They all say that. You wanna know the best way to win? Show us your boobs and I can almost say with certainty that you'll win." **Mirajane looked ready to smack him for suggesting such a thing. **"Before you hit me; think about the time you entered and were dating Naruto. Let it sink in and… Yes. You did in fact show us your boobs. It was why Naruto started dating you in the first place. You flashed him and he pounced on you like-"**

Ikari tackled his old man and yapped happily as he pranced around.

"**-my dead child!"**

Kurama sprang to his feet and began chasing Ikari all over the house. The little kit remained out of his reach by only so much. Kurama smiled regardless. He couldn't win every battle. That just wouldn't be fair. Besides, he had to show he was a good father or the females present might think less of him.

"Gajeel, Naruto isn't here," Cana told him. His presence there in the doorframe was getting on her nerves. For what little time she had spent with the guy, he wasn't all bad. He was just a little odd. Right now he was worried about making a wrong step. Naruto's threat still rang true in his ears. He didn't want to die. "Get in here or I'm going to turn Kurama loose on you." The Dragon Slayer jumped in and looked around some more. "Stop sizing our place up."

"We're supposed to be heading out for a job," he told her. Natsu snapped his fingers. "Of course you'd forget, idiot."

"Who are you calling an idiot, idiot? You're the one that forgot what time we were leaving for the job!"

"The only reason I forgot is because of this cheerleader." Gajeel thumb-jabbed towards Lucy. She took great offense to that. She wasn't a cheerleader. She just wasn't crazy strong like the rest of the members were. Even Cana was a freak when compared to her. "So can we go already? I'm not too fond of foxes."

Ikari ran and shimmed up Gajeel. The teen freaked and began trying to get him off. A quick growl from Kurama had him checking himself before he did anything. Ikari didn't care to the warning and angrily chomped down on the Iron Dragon Slayers' left ear. He screamed in agony and began fighting to remove the small fox. Mirajane calmed down the angry fox and got him to release Gajeel. He snapped and clawed at Gajeel from the obvious safety of Mirajane's arms.

"Little guy has some sharp teeth," he informed them. His hand came back lightly covered in blood. It was nothing. Just a scratch. He'd had worse down in the past. "So are we leaving now? I'd kind of like to leave before Naruto gets back and finds a reason to hurt me."

The group went silent. Lucy hugged Kojoro a little tighter. Why was Naruto so violent? Was it because he had simply lost something and it brought about a great fear in him even now? Surely he hadn't suffered something like that? What could he have lost that would make him feel that way? He was too protective of the guild. His actions proved that.

Kurama looked at the group and then closed his eyes. _**He made up his mind that day… The night he let Konohamaru die. He had looked up at that moon and something died inside him. From that moment on he was different. He was cold, uncaring, and pushed everyone away. He was so afraid of losing anyone else. The body is just as frail at the spirit. He wanted to protect everyone, but after so much death he eventually broke. I wonder how much longer you will hurt yourself over their deaths.**_

"Well," Mirajane said softly, "you guys should head out to get your job done. If you don't hurry you won't get back in time for the festival."

"I got a few things I need to take care of as well." Cana put her empty beer can in the trash and looked down at the photo of her and Naruto sitting on the beach. _When you go out on jobs you always act like you're fighting ghosts. Why is that? _

Once the others left, Cana finished getting dressed and went to visit her mothers' grave.

(-)

"So this is where you went too."

Naruto continued to look ahead. His eyes were glazed over. He wasn't really here. He was off in some far off world where his mind could wander without fear of losing himself. Kurama was anchoring him to the here and now to keep him from losing whatever possible structure he still had of himself.

It was Gajeel that brought this out of him. The man that had been their enemy, nearly killed Levy, captured Lucy, and destroyed their guild was working for them now. Naruto wanted nothing more than to destroy him for what he'd done. He didn't pay enough for his crimes. Death was the only thing that made sense to him. Through his mind, Naruto felt like he had failed yet again. He had failed to protect Konoha and his friends and the alliance. They may have won the war, but the cost had been too great. He didn't want a repeat of that. He just… He couldn't take it.

Makarov was a lot like Jiraiya and the Sandaime Hokage. They wanted peace, a chance to grow stronger and never waver in their ways. They believed in the next generation, eagerly pushing them on the right path when they stepped off it. Naruto understood what it meant to follow orders. Kakashi taught him that. When things got too hard, when he had gone against orders and got people killed, he learned to follow orders. Konoha had this illusion that comradely and a heart of gold would make you a hero.

The real world was anything but that. It was safer to always place your chips with the evil people because heroes had morals and things that made them weaker against their counterparts. Naruto learned that following orders was the best and worst thing in the world. War wasn't pretty. When he was younger he wanted to fight and win. He believed that because Konoha was "good" they could do no wrong. He felt stupid and violated by those thoughts. What had brought those about him? They should have trained him better while he was in the Academy. Why hadn't they?

The rustling of gravel under boot and the blond snapped back from the world of his mind. "Mystogan, what are you doing out here?"

The masked man stood beside him. Naruto had found a good view of the forest. It looked peaceful. "I had a job in this area." He folded his arms over his chest and looked down at him. "Why are you here?"

"I had a job out here as well." No point lying about it. What the job was he could lie about. "I already finished. I'm just… enjoying the view."

"This is a good view."

Silence fell between the two. Naruto always thought Mystogan strange. He was an elusive man, tricky and just like a shinobi. More than once Naruto thought of him as a younger version of Kakashi. He knew what the man looked like. He had been there when he joined the guild and before he started wearing those rags. One could say that Naruto knew the secret behind him, but he never seemed to care. Mystogan, in turn, seemed to understand something that no one else did in the guild. Both never came out about it, but they both seemed to understand the other didn't come from this world.

For a long while they simply sat and enjoyed the peacefulness of the world around them. Then Naruto said, "They don't know how to act around me anymore."

"They can't understand what it means to lose everything. You don't open up to anyone. You play the idiot and big brother figure to hide your pain. Perhaps you could try telling them about yourself."

Naruto laughed lightly. "And tell them what? That I'm a shadow surrounded by death?

"Is that how you see yourself? You can change. Everyone has the potential to change themselves. But the change must be wanted. Nothing will ever change if you yourself don't change first."

The blond looked at him and then stood up. "Change, huh? You're not the first person to tell me that."

"I would imagine so. You want the change to happen. I can see that in you. One would think you want to change not for the people around you, but because you want it yourself. How much longer will you run before the ghosts you're always fighting are won and beaten? Will you stay this way until you have your bodies and ghosts in a line?"

Naruto was silent for a good long while before he said, "I've sinned a great amount in my life. I can't atone for failing to protect my friends."

"Sins rarely are forgiven. What you're seeking atonement for is not what you think it is. You want to hear them tell you that they don't blame you, yet you know it'll never happen. Instead, you must seek to forgive yourself. People die every day. Someone with your eyes has seen far too much death. I still remember seeing that look in your eyes the first day we met. I thought it was strange to see someone like you in that guild, but I suppose now it makes sense."

"What about you? You detached yourself from the guild when Erza joined. I'd ask why, but I think we both know the answer to that." The blond looked up at the sun. "I gotta go. Tell Makarov I said I'll be back later. I need time to think things through. I'll come back when I have my answer."

Mystogan squinted and then faced the blond. "What answer?" Naruto was gone. He chuckled. "So that's what that feels like." Mystogan walked off. He had other things to take care of as well.

(-)

"Call no man happy 'till he's dead."

"Then I've made a lot of people happy, Doc."

Naruto would never say he hated this woman. His doctor was a good person. She worked for the Magic Council. Working for them was his way of getting the drugs he needed to keep his PTSD down to a certain level. This fact that this female knew most of life was also a plus to him. She was a consultant, therapist, and also a drop dead gorgeous woman. Too bad she wasn't into guys. She played for the other team. Plus, she openly admitted to be a creepy person away from work. Naruto had decided that he needed more female friends and wanted her as his therapist even if she was a bit creepy from time to time when she talked about her time away from work.

"So how about you give me what I came for and I'll get out of your hair." He avoided eye contact.

She smiled mischievously. "Tell me about your job."

"What's there to tell? You got the report already. I know you did."

"Yes. That's true. This is why I'm a little curious about your actions during it." She raised the document in question and then began reading from it. "I was told to leave no survivors and I did as instructed. I killed all of them without mercy or prejudice." She stopped reading and licked her lips. Her face relaxed and her eyes curiously probed him. "Even when you are ordered to kill everyone and leave no evidence, you still bring in the leader or the person that we personally want dead. So why did you kill them all this time around?"

Naruto sighed and banged his head on the desk. "Can I just have my drugs?"

"You kill people for drugs? Amazing."

"No. I just… I don't wanna talk about it."

"I'm supposed to help you out with your PTSD, Maelstrom. I'm not doing this for the joy of listening to other people complain about their lives. Now why did you kill those people and why don't you wanna talk about it?"

The blond sighed. Where all doctors like this? He felt like a child in her presence. When he went in for a physical or to have blood work or just anything concerning a doctor, he ended up feeling like a child. Why was that? He faced down large monsters, fought an entire army of clones, beat his Bijuu in a fight to rule over his chakra and then make him his friend, and now works for the council in killing people. Yet when he went to see a doctor he felt like a child. Something was backwards here.

"I was ordered to do a job and I did it."

"Of course. You did as you were instructed. That's actually rather good for you. You're stepping up in the world."

Naruto just stared at her.

"Now tell me the real reason or I'm going to start taking educated guesses." He remained silent. "It's because Gajeel joined Fairy Tail. You threatened your fellow guild members with destruction if they didn't get out of your way to deal with him. They all kept that a secret from you. You took the job not for the money or the meds we give you, but to get away from them. They began to fear you. Before you left, Cana started acting differently. The entire guild has-"

"Enough," Naruto whispered. "I didn't come here for a session. I came here for my medication. I'm not one your clients. I'm just here for the meds. That's all."

"Medication can only go so far, Maelstrom. You of all people should know that. You still have trouble sleeping. You destroyed your faucet from what I remember after you started hearing voices in your head."

"I hear a lot more than just voices from time to time." Naruto snatched up the bottle. It was a large this time. He looked inside and withdrew a pill the size of his thumb nail. "If these get any bigger, I'm not taking them anymore."

"You'll have no choice in the matter. There's a law stating we can't let crazies loose on the world. And then they'd move to suppositories instead or injections. You do still have a fear of needles, don't you?" Naruto got up and left. "Come back soon!"

(-)

"**A bunch of woman posing in next to nothing to figure out who the hottest woman in Fairy Tail is," **Kurama repeated. His tails wagged around happily. **"This is the best thing about this guild, Makarov. I swear. Not even back home did they do stuff like this. I would have loved to have seen that. There were a bunch of hot girls in Naruto's hometown. One had hug…" **A cough and the small fox turned just enough to see Levi staring at him like she wanted to hit him. **"What? They had a few girls with washboard chests!"**

Levi hit him and walked backstage.

Makarov laughed and patted the old fox on the back. Kurama just grumbled something about blue haired girls and being a pain as the Old Master said, "You better get up there. You said you have a speech to give."

Kurama hopped off the bar and scampered towards Max. The Sand Magician picked him up and put him on his own little stool. The rest of the members began getting ready for the show. No food or drink was allowed for this right now for fear of people choking on whatever they ate or drink.

Once the people were set, Max grabbed the microphone and smiled out at the crowd. "People of Magnolia Town! People from nearby towns! And those who especially came from the underworld; don't forget to go back to your graves when it's over. Okay?!" The crowd erupted into a fit of laughter. Kurama didn't see anything funny in the joke. "And for what you have all been waiting for! The Fairy Tail beauties will perform on this stage! Let the contest begin!"

They erupted into a frenzy as the first girl appeared from behind the curtain.

"The announcer will be me, the Sand Magician, Max Alrose, and my faithful assistant, Kurama! Now before we begin, we have a few rules to go over. Kurama will be going over those since he volunteered for it."

"**I don't remember volunteering for anything, but what the hell. You only live twice. Or once. Or whatever the hell that saying is." **A few people began to laugh. **"The first rule is pretty simple, people. No touching. You can look but not touch. I can touch them, though. You can't. Jealous? Don't care. Second rule is also pretty simple. You can only vote for one girl. We will be monitoring everyone that goes into those booths to do their voting. Last vote is the hardest one of them all. No screaming, bleeding, or throwing stuff until all the girls are finished. For all you guys, and few ladies out there, please keep your thoughts on what you'd do to them in your head. We don't need you people trying to ravage them like we did about five years ago." **

Max took the mic back once Kurama nodded and jumped off the stool to stand beside him.

"May I introduce to you our first contestant! Miss Cana Alberona!"

The card user smiled at the audience of men and women. She waved and laughed as she threw her cards into the air. A whirlwind snatched them up and she was covered in her magical cards. She wrapped around her form until they had stuck to her like glue. They all began to fall off and revealed her into a two piece bathing suit. She struck a pose and winked at the crowd as she placed a hand in her hair. It covered one eye and she bent over just enough for her get every hot blooded male and female red in the face.

"**She changed into a swimsuit! Not enough skin." **

Cana ignored Kurama's gripe as she danced around and made the cards sparkle and fly around her. It was at that time that she heard a cry of, "Not enough skin," from Kojoro. The small fox was sitting next to its siblings beside the master.

"Tits or get the fuck out!" Ikari demanded. Wasn't Kurama supposed to be making sure no one screamed or something?

"Show more legs and ass! Shake what your mother gave you!" That was Cornelia.

She popped her hips as she walked off the stage. **"Get the old man out of here! He's bleeding from the nose! And what the hell did I say about screaming while the girls are performing?!"**

All eyes turned to Makarov. He had struck a nosebleed just from Cana alone.

"You told us to scream for them to take their clothes off!" Ikari snapped back.

"**Oh yeah! I forgot about that!" **Max slapped the nine-tailed fox on the back of the head. **"Announce the second contestant before I do. I won't be nice about it."**

Max grumbled something that the mic fortunately didn't catch. Kurama heard him but laughed at him as the sand user said, "Second contestant, the new S-Class member, the lovely, Miss Juvia!"

The new member smiled towards the crowd as she raised her arms and dissolved into water. The onlookers roared with excitement at the prospect of what they might see. The water cascaded off her and revealed her wearing a two piece bikini. She used her magic to bring crashes waves around her. Wet hair clung to her face and neck. The fabric stuck to her body and left very little to the imagination as a result of this. She ran her hands over her breasts, down her stomach and over her legs as she leaned over and blew a kiss to Gray. The teen looked completely shocked and looked away.

"More sex appeal please!" Ikari shouted.

"**That a boy! That's my child over there!" **

Juvia walked off stage but not before waving and winking at Gray. The Ice Mage shuddered as he saw Max walk back to the center stage. "And now here is the third contestant! Her beauty can make all men on Earth drunk, Mirajane!"

The barmaid walked out on stage, smiled, and waved at the crowd.

"She's cute!"

"The favorite!"

"The real person!"

"She's cuter than in the magazine!"

Kurama rolled his eyes. Of course humans couldn't listen to orders. Show guys a pair of hot tits and they'd forget to swallow, breath, or that they're mates were right next to them glaring at them. _**Should do a male version of this just for the ladies. **_

Mirajane waved her hands towards the crowd. "I'm very skilled in transformation magic! Next, I'll perform face transformation!" Her head turned into the face of Happy. The crowd screamed in terror. Lucy began cackling madly, just like the rest of the ladies behind the curtain. "Just the face of Gajeel!"

"Only you make me happy," the little cat cried. The three kits cheered for barmaid regardless. They didn't seem to understand that she was the champ for this kind of contest and that she just destroyed what chance she had of winning. "

Mirajane finished with a bow before walking off.

"**I have no idea what the hell just took place, but I must say I am sad that she chose the flying rat over my manly looking face. Stupid rat." **Max made an irritated face and the small Bijuu sighed. **"Ruining all my fun. Now for our fourth contestant! The strongest woman in Fairy Tail, Erza Scarlet!"**

The proud redhead inhaled deeply. She stood proudly on the platform as she said, "I will not lose here." An aura of magical energy enveloped her form. A bright light shimmered into existence and then faded to show her now wearing a loli-styled gothic outfit that came with thigh high stockings, arm braces, a corset and a push up bra. "I win," she declared with pure confidence in her voice.

When she walked off the stage, Max took over since Kurama was laughing at her expense. He saw no confidence in her form or in what she wore. If she any confidence she would have worn less clothing and flaunted her body more. She was just too proud in his eyes to not undress for the public.

"The fifth contest, the little fairy! The cute and knowledgeable, McGarden Levi!"

The blue haired mage smiled and waved for the crowd. She took out a magic pen and began writing in the air. She slapped her palm against it and yelled out, "Soriddo Sukuriputo!" The word's "Fire", "Butterfly", "Flower", and "Snow" appeared in the air, each showing off their own unique structure to the word she created. It was really well done. The three kits had nothing to say for the lack of skin. They just enjoyed the show as Levi took a moment to bask in the joy of having her friends cheer for her.

"**You go girl!"**

"The next contestant, the sexy sniper, Mulan Bisca!"

The cowgirl came out wearing a two piece bikini and holding four gold coins with hearts stamped on them. The guys were already going nuts, especially Alzack. Kurama grumbled something strange to that notion. Obviously no one was going to keep silent. He might as well just cheer as well.

Bisca hurled the coins skyward. "Requip!" she said. Light gave birth to a rifle with a scope. She sighted through it and waited. Everyone held their breath as they watched the coins twirl in the air. Then, not a moment later, she fired a single shot. The four coins jerked in the air and then returned to falling. "Yee-haw!" The coins dropped down in her hand and she showed them to the crowd. One shot and she struck them all dead center.

"**Any man who doesn't vote for this woman, remember that she obviously never misses her target." **As if to prove him right, she fired her gun. The bullet zipped right by his nose. He felt it more than he heard it. **"You dumb bitch! We should disqualify you for that!" **She fired again, this time between his front feet. **"Shutting up now."**

"Seventh contest! The super rookie! Give it up for Lucy H-"

"No!" Said girl came rushing out on stage. "Don't say my last name!" She laughed nervously. She could hear the crowd whispering about her. Kurama looked eager to see what she was going to do. "I'll be dancing with my Stellar Spirits…"

"Number eight," a calm voice announced.

"Wait," Lucy cried. "I haven't even started yet…"

"If you talk about Fairy, then it's me. If you talk about beauty, then it's me. The champion will definitely be me, Evergreen!" Said female hide her face behind a black hand-fan. She was smiling like she'd already won. "It's boring, so we'll end the beauty contest here!"

"What," Lucy cried in pure horror. "Hey, what happened to my Five hundred thousand jewels?" No one was saying anything. Besides that… "Quit playing around!" Lucy snapped at the new mage. "This beauty contest concerns my living!"

"Lucy!" Gray screamed from somewhere in the back. "Don't look into her eyes!"

Too late.

Lucy turned and looked right into the eyes of the woman as she lifted her glasses a bit. "What did you say, little girl?" Evergreen mocked.

In an instant she was frozen and turned into a solid stone statue. The crowd erupted to fear and Max began telling people to evacuate through usage of his magic. The exit was jammed with people running away, most fearful for their lives. A mage fight wasn't something for normal people to get dragged into. They rarely came out on top. And if it was a battle between Fairy Tail members… well it was best just to leave town for a bit.

"What are you doing, Evergreen?" Makarov screamed. "Are you trying to ruin the festival?"

"Doesn't a festival have a main show?" She ignored his question and asked one of her own instead.

"**Yes it does," **Kurama said sharply. The female mage turned and spied the little fox sitting quite happily on the stage. He had a piece of fabric in hand and seemed rather interested in it. **"I'd say you're putting on a good show right now. I like what I see."**

Evergreen removed the curtain while looking down. Somehow the small fox had managed to steal her top right off of her without her being alerted to it. Kurama, like everyone else, were not fixated on her boobs when the curtain vanished. Behind it where the other girls, all turned to stone with a look of horror etched on their faces.

Panic set in. Makarov looked furious. Even more so than Kurama as his fur stood straight up and got ready to attack her. He snarled and snapped like an animal gone mad.

"You fool!" Makarov shouted. He was angry with Evergreen, but he was more afraid of what a certain blond might do if and when he learned of this. Taking in Gajeel had nearly made him destroyed the guild just to get to the man. What would he do to her if he learned that she turned her fellow comrades and guild members into stone? The thought wasn't pleasant. "Turn them back to normal!" he demanded.

Lightning struck the ground. Laxus appeared with a smug grin on his face. Behind here were Bickslow and Freed were behind him, both looking eager for a fight. "The real festival begins now!" Laxus declared. The people present took a step back. "Why don't we play a game, old geezer?"

"Don't do something stupid," the old master demanded. "We have to get ready for Fantasia. Turn them back to normal now!"

"Fantasia is late at night. If we hurry, people might get to see it." He flickered and turned into a bolt of lightning. It danced in the air and then came crashing down for Lucy's statue. Makarov screamed. The bolt swerved around her form and landed beside her. Laxus draped and arm around her neck. "I'll take these girls as hostages. I'll destroy them one by one if you break the rules. Like I said, this the main show."

"There are things that can't be taken as a joke, Laxus."

"Of course, I'm serious."

"It's just a game, to find out who…" Freed stopped.

"…is the strong here, in Fairy Tail." Bickslow finished.

A powerful aura settled over the group. All eyes turned to Kurama as he radiated a red aura. **"Laxus, you will stop this immediately or face death. I know that you know what he did to the others when he discovered that they brought Gajeel into the guild. Now think about what he'd do to you. Or what I'll do to you!"**

The lightning mage smirked. "You have no power, Kurama. And I am looking forward to seeing what Naruto will do when he finds that I've turned his woman to stone." He jabbed a thumb in Cana's direction. "Besides, it's time to see which of us is stronger. He's never fought me and he calls himself stronger than me only because of our age difference and time spent as a mage of Fairy Tail. Any time I've challenged him, he's refused. It's high time he learns his place in this guild."

"**Naruto will kill you without a second thought. You have no power when compared to him. I on the other hand," **the small fox suddenly lunged at the man with surprising speed, **"will kill you slowly!"**

Laxus snatched the tiny Bijuu out of the air and held him by his throat. He sent a pulse of electricity into him and he howled in agony. He cursed this form for not being his own. A bolt, even at this size, would have done nothing to him. It might not have even registered as a tickle. But he didn't have his full power.

"Papa!"

The crazed mage faced the three kits as they came charging in to save their father. Kurama didn't get to scream at them as Laxus kicked all three to the ground and began to step on Kojoro's head. She whimpered the loudest and screamed for her father and mother.

"**Laxus! Stop! Stop this now! Please!"**

"You need to learn to keep your flea bitten kits under control!" He kicked her off the stage and watched with glee as she didn't get up. Ikari limped towards her and then began to nudge her. "Now where was I? Oh yes. The rules are simple. The last survivor wins! Fairy Tail Fight starts now!"

A table went shooting into the ceiling. Natsu stood with a big grin on his face. "Isn't this great?!"

_**Not really, you idiot!**_

"This is way too easy to understand! I'm pumped!"

The crowd of mages went silent after Natsu's declaration. He'd seemingly forgotten that he'd never beaten or touched Laxus in any of the fights they'd had in the past. He couldn't even touch Naruto or Gildarts. What hope did he have against Laxus if he couldn't even touch him on his best day?

"Natsu," Laxus finally said as though he wasn't surprised. "You're always up for a good time, aren't you? I kind of like that." Natsu ran for the lightning mage. "And yet… I can't say I like your total lack of style." The Dragon Slayer got within inches of his face with a flaming fist. "Now calm down, Natsu." A bolt of lightning and Natsu was on the ground burnt and laughing painfully.

"If you want to free these lovely ladies, you'll have to defeat us first," Evergreen told the crowd. She had managed to get her top back on. No one seemed to care at the moment either.

"There are four of us, and about a hundred of you," Bickslow added. "We're at a total disadvantage!"

"The time limit is three hours. If you cannot defeat us before that time is up, then these girls will be reduced to sand."

The crowd erupted into a chorus of yells and screams as they tried to understand what they were told. Shouts of, "Are you serious?" and "You can't go that far!" where the only things that really were noted among the other useless blabbering.

"The battlefield covers the whole of Magnolia. The moment you find one of us, the battle begins!" Laxus mentally counted down until the eruption took place. Makarov suddenly got large and screamed at him. Grinning, he raised one finger and formed a ball of light on the tip. "I told you to calm down, didn't I…? Let's enjoy this little bit of entertainment."

Everything went white and Kurama fell to the ground hard on his face. While everyone else began running for the door, Kurama ran towards his downed daughter. She was breathing. That was a good sign. Blood drained for her mouth where a tooth had been knocked free and where her lip had been busted. Kojoro managed a small whimper as her eyes fluttered open. Her two siblings circled around her, eagerly trying to find a way to see if she was alright. It might have been a touching thing if anyone had taken the time to notice them.

_**I won't forgive Laxus for this. I swear on my tails that I will never forgive him for this. **_

Kyuubi nuzzled closer to his daughter and then wrapped himself around her form. The other two did the same and cried for their sister as she lay wounded on the ground. No other damage would be seen until later.

(-)

Naruto yawned from his spot in the tree. The council was being tied up at the moment. They wanted another report before they'd let him leave. He understood and just decided to chill for the remainder of the day. It wasn't like the rest of the world was falling apart on its own right now. The council was probably waiting for that to happen before they allowed him to leave. He really did hate this part of the meetings and reports. This was where he wished he was in the Elemental Nations. All you did was write up a report, which they did do here, but they also wanted a verbal report as well, and then you were done. Over here you wrote up a report, told it to them verbally, got a lecture on your methods, and then they sent you away unless there was something so important you had no other choice but to head right back out.

No rest for the wicked.

The blond could grasp why they wanted so many reports. They had listening devices set up so that whatever you said would be recorded and they had it for records as well as the written report. This was all to maintain complete control over the world. Rights were something of a thing of the past. Konoha gave certain rights out but when war came along, those rights were gone fast. This country was kind of like that. They seemed more superstitious about each other from time to time for as long as he'd worked for them.

He figured they had a reason for keeping him out here this long anyways. The festival was tonight and he made the mistake of being slow to get the job done so he could go enjoy it. Chances were high that one or two of the members were actually present for the thing and enjoying the sights and sounds at the moment. They about eight hours before the real thing began. Naruto hadn't been a part of it for two years now. The last time he was a part of it he had gotten so drunk that he didn't know what happened. All he knew was that he woke up in Mirajane's bed with said girl, but his clothes were in Elfman's apartment, and his shoes were on Gray's front doorstep. It was the strangest mystery that he'd ever come across. He couldn't deny that it had been fun… whatever they did.

The last two times he missed it was because he was away on jobs. One was because he didn't want to be a part of it because Lisanna was dead and the other time it had been because he just plain forgot and had been away on a job. He'd meant to go but he'd actually forgotten. Even Kurama had forgotten. They had been a month behind because of his last job, though they'd said that so many times that Naruto no longer knew if that had been a lie or the truth. Kurama didn't know either. Everyone said they had lied but Naruto wasn't sure.

He sat up suddenly and scratched at the side of his head. Personally, he'd taken it slow to get his thoughts together and because everyone in the guild had pushed him away for fear of what he might do. He felt bad about his actions, but what was he to do? He'd practically helped raise most of them. He'd trained a few on how to fight, helped Erza with her sword play, Levi with her book collection, Jet with his speed, Droy with his plants. He'd spent a lot of time with each of them. It was mostly to kill the pain of what he'd been through. His little stunt had probably wounded them all and made them weary of him now. They would never be able to understand just what it was like to be in his shoes.

"Uzumaki!"

The blond turned his attention towards the ground. His contact was there with a document in hand. Blinking, he rolled out of the tree and landed in front of him. The man was adjusting his glasses. He looked worried.

"This just came in. We need you to deal with this as quickly as possible."

Taking the offered document that he was going to flat refuse; he stared wide eyed at what was on it. He blinked several times and even pinched his contact to make him hit him. The man had a thing about people touching him. Odd. "Is this real?" he asked.

"I'm afraid it is. The Council wants you to deal with this right now. Laxus has gone too far now. The only thing stopping them from disbanding Fairy Tail is your work alone at the moment. Org was in Magnolia when he was hurt. There was some fighting that instigated by Laxus. No further details have been brought to us, but Makarov has excommunicated him from the guild, but he has to pay for his crimes. He injured several people. You have your orders. I'd tell you I'm sorry, but that would mean I favor you."

Coming from his stupor, the blond nodded. He'd deal with this alright. Laxus went too far in endangering civilians. The report talked about a fight started by Laxus himself and ending with his defeat. There was nothing else on it. Only a list of people that had been wounded because of whatever it was he did.

"Give me a few hours. I'll deal with him." He rolled up the document and put it in his pocket. His contact went to say something, but Naruto ignored him and favored his quick transportation method. Using the Haraishin no Jutsu to get home where he'd placed a Tri-Kunai, he bolted for the door but stopped to look around. He hadn't been home in days and yet everything looked like it hadn't been touched in the last three days. _Kurama isn't here? _That was weird.

He tore the door open and marched for the guild. He slipped across town. It was best no one knew he was back. He darted through the open window, snuck past the guild members, and got into Makarov's office. The old master looked surprised to see Naruto so soon.

"What did Laxus do?"

Makarov clicked his teeth and wobbled out of his chair. He stared at the blond and leaned against his cane. "He attacked the others and forced them to fight each other. He was trying to take control of the guild. He wanted to be Guild Master so he could make it stronger. I kicked him out."

Naruto clenched his jaw. He should have been here.

"He ordered his group to make sure that everyone had a reason to fight in his little game. He put runes all over the place and forced them all to fight one another. He wanted to see who the strongest member was… or so he had said at start. He took the girls entering the Miss Fairy Contest hostage. Had Evergreen turn them into stone. Freed made sure I couldn't partake in the fighting or I'd have cleaned it up sooner. Then he took the town hostage by using his Rējingu Boruto."

"I'm going after him."

"I kicked him out, Naruto. There's no reason for you to go after him after I've done that. You'll be charged as a criminal if you do that."

"It's not up to me."

"Like hell it isn't! You don't have to go after him! I already did what I never wanted to do in my entire life. I never wanted to resort to this. I thought he'd get better. I never thought that he'd… do this."

The blond truly felt for the man. He really did. But orders were orders. "I'm sorry. But I have to go after him." He pulled out the document before Makarov could say anything. He showed it to him. It was an official order. With Laxus being kicked out, he no longer was a member of Fairy Tail. Naruto would have to bring him in regardless if he was still a member. "I'm sorry. I have my orders. They want him brought before them for being a danger to society for his actions. Dead or alive. My choice."

It was rolled up and put back in his pocket.

Makarov sat down on the ground and closed his eyes. "I'll take the heat for this. I can…"

"You can't. Laxus is no longer a member of Fairy Tail. You excommunicated him. They were able to learn that much. Maybe if you had kept him in the guild they could go after you. But you didn't. You can't overturn this. He attempted manslaughter and held people hostage for his own needs and wants. You have to let this go, Makarov." Naruto turned and walked for the door. "I thought he could change, too. But I was wrong."

"Please… Don't kill him."

Naruto looked at the door and flashed away.

(-)

"Have you talked to him yet?"

Cana raised her head from the bar and blinked twice as she stared at a blurry image of Mirajane. She looked a little too happy at the moment.

"No. He's not here."

"Oh." Mirajane fell silent. "Have you talked to him yet?"

"No. He's not here. I just said that." Her head started to ache. "I drank too much. Stupid Laxus. Stupid Naruto. Stupid body of mine that can't take large quantities of alcohol when I want it to." She burped and then cried silently as her head began to ache even worse. "I need to stop thinking."

"Good luck with that."

Cana reached for the only source of pain relief. Mirajane snatched up her alcohol, her remedy to the pain in her head, and took a big swig of it. So that was what was with her. She was tipsy. When was the last time Mirajane had gotten drunk or drank period? Two months ago? Four months ago? Cana didn't know. Her headache made her not think on the matter anymore. Lord she'd either drank too much or was drinking something stronger than what she usually did.

Looking around the guild, she saw that most of the members present were still drinking. Only a few were actually passed out. Erza was on the ground on the other side of Gajeel cuddling a bottle of something alcoholic in nature. She looked so much cuter passed out on the ground, cuddling a bottle of whatever she drank, and smiling. She almost looked like a little angel that could do no wrong or had violent tendencies.

"So have you talked to him yet?"

"He's not here!" Cana growled. It was bad enough that Mirajane had activated her scarier side during the whole thing. She didn't need her drunk and going through her powers again. Cana knew her own limits. She couldn't stand up to a monster like Mirajane when she got going. "What am I going to say to him? What should I say to him? What are we talking about? Why would I wanna talk to him at all?"

"You're dating him." The female Strauss smiled as she downed the bottle of whatever Cana had been drinking. It wasn't water. That much was for sure. She felt more alive and invincible than before. "You owe him."

"I owe him what? My life? He threatened to kill someone. Don't see why I have to talk to him."

Cana grabbed another bottle. That girl looked rather familiar. Her friend grabbed the bottle and began pouring a glass for the two of them. "Naruto has been there for us since we first joined." Cana thought it amazing that Mirajane managed to pour their glasses without spilling any of it. Maybe she wasn't as drunk as she thought she was. "He looked after us when we were little. He was like our… older brother." She hiccupped, blushed, and smiled as she said something to the working barmaid. "Some of us might not be here probably if it wasn't for his watchful eyes."

"You make that sound like he was always there since we were born."

"He was for you." Mirajane laughed into her cup as some of it spilt down her top. Okay. Maybe she was rather drunk. "You're into older guys."

"Same can be said for you." Cana sloshed the drink around then downed it. It was nice when there was ice in it. Whatever they were drinking seemed better that way. Burned like the fires of hell though.

"Don't let it touch your tongue. It'll knock you on your ass. Just like Erza." Cana looked behind her friend and laughed. The redhead was still on the ground. Macao had accidently kicked her as he walked for the bar to get another drink and ended up falling over her. His feet were in her face. He'd passed out right after that. "You're going to tell him that you still love him and that's that."

"You can't tell me what to do. How could Naruto just tell us that he was going to kill Gajeel? We all came to understand him and Naruto never gave him a chance. I should leave him. Being with him was a mistake."

Mirajane stared at her with lazy eyes. She looked like she was about to fall asleep. Cana looked at her and then the next thing she knew she was on the ground and blinking as a stinging sensation came from her face. The entire guild hall went silent.

"We're having words," Mirajane said as she grabbed her friend by her hair and dragged her out of the guild. Okay. So she wasn't as drunk as she seemed. Either that or she sobered right up after hearing that little proclamation.

"Let go of my hair!" Mirajane ignored her and walked a good distance before her friend managed to untangle herself and stand before. "It's my life. I'll do what I want, you… drunk bitch!"

"I'm not that drunk. I dragged you all the way back his place where you live with him." Cana looked around. Yeah, they were back home alright. "You owe him your love and devotion for all the times he stuck his neck out for you. If it weren't for him, you'd have never told Gildarts you were his daughter. You would have never learned that throwing card trick you do. And you wouldn't have had someone that could shower you with love and devotion. Naruto is faithful to you, even if he is a player. You noticed that he never called any other girl he slept with by name? Only you?"

Cana raided the fridge. Two beers. She'd have to get more.

"Not enough of a reason for me to owe him my life."

"You stupid bitch." The white haired woman walked up and pulled one of the beers free. "Naruto opened up to you more than he did for me. I love him. I still love him. I want nothing more than to be with him again. But I understand that where I lay with him. I'm not second best to you, Cana. I'm the person that understood him first. We love each other still, but he and I both know that it's better for me to not be with him. Just like how you know you need to be with him. He can't live on his own. He's a walking source of pain. He told you about his first love, didn't he? About how she died in his arms? It killed him."

The barmaid downed her beer with one gulp. Cana had her back against the fridge and one eye closed. She was close to passing out.

"Why not let me leave him? You'd have him again. Don't see any problem with it."

"Because we can't be together." She started playing with the bottle. "Naruto is like a porcupine. He yearns for the touch or others, but hurts them all the same. It's his dilemma. He told me that he can't protect me without a sword, but he can't embrace me with a sword either. He has to choose. It's the same with you. In order to protect what he cherishes, he must cast aside his feelings and do what is right. He's not someone that acts out for no reason. Even in his darkest moments, I saw that he was still pure of heart. He would never hurt us without the best of reasons. Take Laxus for example. Naruto believes he can be saved. Yet we know that it's not possible after what he did. Naruto now has a reason to go after him. He might kill him if he ever learned what he did. He might just break him a part and throw him into the winds. Or he might let it slide because he'd trust in the Masters' decision. But Naruto would protect us from threats. Even if he became the threat himself. He'd still protect us. Even from himself."

"Sounds like you know him better than me."

"I knew him before you knew him. I knew him before he regained his humanity. We got together not because there was love there, but because I saw him crying for help. He wanted to feel something more than nothingness. I wanted to help him because he wanted it more than anything else. It just turned into something more. I gave him humanity back. Then Lisanna died. You started dating him. He was sinking back into that depression that I fought so hard to get him out of. I owe him too. He owes me as well. But we called it even. If you destroy him, Cana, I'll destroy you. I won't see him returned to that state of mind where everything is just a means to an end for him."

The two fell silent. Cana finished her beer and stared at it. "I love him," she finally admitted. "I couldn't go on without him. I'd drink myself into a depression. Seeing him but never having him again. You miss him for that. The way he holds you at night? He's so protective. That's what drew me to him. He's like my father. When he was around and we lived together, when I was scared, I'd sleep in his bed with him. Something about being next to him just made me feel safe. Same with Naruto."

Mirajane laughed and nodded. "I miss him for that the most. Not his stamina or the way he held me. Just his presence alone made me feel safe. I want that back, but I'm perfectly fine with him being yours." She wobbled as she stood up and slinked towards Cana. "I haven't had a good lay since then. You look like you could use it too." She tore Cana's top off. The brunette blinked and then laughed. "Is his new bed comfy?"

Cana pushed her into the room and collapsed on the bed. "Oh yes."

The white haired woman laughed and rolled over on top of Cana. "Sorry if I'm a little rough. I'm inexperienced."

Cana laughed and soon began feeling over her body.

(-)

"You guys should stay at the guild. I don't really need you guys to look after me." Laxus knew he was lying to them. He rather liked them following him. He might need to the company later.

He ignored anything that they said. He wasn't being mean; he was just a little preoccupied with his thoughts at the moment. He lost to Natsu, a big hit to his pride right there. Laxus didn't feel bad about what he did. That was something he understood. He did something bad and everyone knew about it. He knew that what he did was wrong, but he still didn't care.

"…supposed to protect you." Laxus nodded as though he had heard all of what Freed had said. "So where are we going?"

"I haven't really thought too much on th-"

Laxus dropped hard.

The three opened their mouths and then dropped as well. Bickslow blinked tears out of his eyes. He hurt a lot.

Strong hands grabbed Bickslow and the man yelped in pain as something applied pressure to the bottom rib on his right ribcage. He yelled as it was broken. Whatever had him, hurled him at the nearest tree. Bickslow hit hard and wobbled to his feet, using the tree as a crutch just to stand up. When he turned he was pinned to the wall. A shadow moved across his vision and then Evergreen and Freed joined him. Not a moment later Laxus was pinned beside them as well.

The moon came out from behind the clouds and a man with blond hair, whisker marks on his cheeks, and white eyes with rings and a dozen coma marks in the rings stood before them with his arms crossed over his chest. It was Naruto.

"Naruto!" Laxus snarled. He grinned and tried to pry himself free of the bonds that held him to the tree.

Naruto's left eye began to bleed.

Evergreen blinked as she was suddenly freed from her bonds and saw that the others were as well. The world had changed. The sky was red, yet they were black and white. They all looked around for a number of seconds before the female mage suddenly felt a sharp pain and screamed out. They turned and found a large sword stabbed through her stomach from behind her. Naruto had his hand on the handle. He gave them no chance to figure out what he was doing. He killed her on the spot.

They were stunned into silent and frozen. The blond calmly walked to Bickslow and killed him before he could do anything. Freed grabbed his sword and drew it. The metal hissed and then burst into flames. He dropped it and lost his arm before losing his head. Laxus remained standing, confused by the sudden attack. When the blond turned on the Lightning Mage, he suddenly found his voice.

"Why are you killing them?"

His answer was to kill Laxus. The younger blond fell to the ground dead. Naruto just blinked and then the four dead people were reborn screaming as they patted themselves down. They backed away in fear of him now. Naruto slew them again. He dropped Laxus first. Then he turned on Freed and Bickslow. Evergreen walked backwards until she felt something sharp enter her from behind. A stone statue of Erza came to life and slew her right on the spot. Then like before they were reborn.

Bickslow fell down vomiting.

"W-what is this?!"

The Jinchuuriki dropped him where he lay and looked to the others. He slew them again and again until he finally said, "This is the world of Tsukuyomi." They were now fearful of him. Dying repeatedly wasn't a fun experience. It felt real, yet they were always reborn. "Here, I control time and space. I cannot kill you in real life. So I will simply kill you for the next seventy-two hours."

It went on again. Naruto killed them over and over again. Laxus lost count and his vomited more times. Each time he was reborn in this hellish world he felt his strength begin to leave him. Evergreen was already crying, begging for him to stop. He killed her slowly and then got to the part where he was stopped killing her and simply turned to stabbing her with a small knife as she bound to a cross. He burned her, drowned her, electrocuted her, and cut her into pieces. Her mind would be broken soon.

While he did this he worked on Freed. The man screamed the loudest as Naruto broke every bone in his body over and over again. Pretty soon Freed was broken and could nothing but cry as each time he was revived and healed the wounds and pain remained. Bickslow and Laxus suffered through the same thing. Before long they weren't screaming anymore. The air had been removed from their lungs. They simply stood yelling silently.

"Only seventy-one hours, fifty-nine minutes, fifty-nine seconds remaining."

"What?" Laxus gasped out.

Naruto started killing them all over again.

(-)

It took time, but the illusion was finally removed. They showed great endurance to not have their minds fully broken. They remained coherent and cursed him regardless of what they'd gone through. Naruto didn't take notice that his eye was still bleeding. He still seethed with rage for what they'd done. He'd only used Tsukuyomi twice in his life. It was before Sasuke died. Sasuke showed him how it worked, though Naruto hadn't had the eyes he has now back then. When he died and gave him his eyes, Naruto learned it with Kakashi. Kakashi was the first person he used it on, though he didn't torture him. There had been no way for him to use it on Madara. He was only a half-breed when compared to Madara. He wouldn't have been able to use it on him.

But these people weren't Madara. They couldn't break it. No one could break it as far as he knew. This would be the second time he'd used it here. The first time here had been in front of Makarov when Ivan was kicked from the guild. The man had tried to attack them and Naruto used it on him. Though no one but Makarov knew about it, it was something he had difficult controlling.

Before any of them could move, Naruto dropped them. He broke both arms on Bickslow and then shattered the femur bone in his left leg. He went down screaming. Naruto kicked him once in the head to knock him out. Freed tried his luck next and ended up passing out on the ground when Naruto punched him in the throat and then broke both legs at the knee. Evergreen froze him into a statue. She smiled then grew fearful when the stone statue suddenly exploded. The blond appeared beside her and punched her in the face. Both eyes instantly grew big and swollen. He broke her arms and then busted her ribs. She passed out after that.

Laxus stepped back and looked ready to run.

"Don't even think about it." Laxus gulped. This was too much. The large sword from the illusion world appeared and he held it at the Lighting Mages' throat. "I can kill you faster than you can use your lightning spells."

"You think you're faster than lightning?"

"I _am _faster than lightning." Laxus smirked and jolted from his position. He never felt the steel leave his throat, yet he jumped three hundred yards away in a flash. Naruto didn't look impressed. "Told you," he said. Laxus began to growl. "This is revenge for harming Cana, Levi, Erza, Lucy-"

"Why do you care about them?"

"I care about them because they're the only family I've got."

"Let now they're terrified of you. You'd still protect them?"

Naruto snorted. He shattered the bones in Laxus's left hand. The man clutched his hand and then felt his right kneecap explode. He dropped from there. Naruto reeled back and kicked him hard in the gut. The blond flew through the air and felt a sharp pain explode in his back. Naruto proved too fast and appeared right where he landed. The blond tossed him to the ground and kicked dirt in his eyes. Laxus saw that his teammates were down for the count. Naruto hadn't spared them at all either.

"I only want-"

Naruto brought his fist down hard on top of his skull. Laxus never finished. Naruto was certain that besides a concussion he also broke a piece of his skull. Looking around, he made his sword vanish and grabbed up the four. Killing them was out of the question. Evergreen, Bickslow, and Freed were still part of the guild. They weren't wanted for what Laxus did. Laxus was the only man that had anything to answer for. His heart wouldn't let him take them to the Council. They'd kill Laxus without a second thought for what he'd done.

Looking into the East, he nodded. There was at least one place he could take them.

(-)

"Here's a pleasant sight," Romeo groaned. He was a big boy and could go home on his own, but his father told him to make sure he didn't get drunk and make sure they got home before ten. It was eleven. Macao was drunk. "I thought I said we had to go home. I told you we were leaving already. And you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk, alright? I just have a speech impediment." Macao vomited on the countertop. The working barmaid hurriedly cleaned it up. "And a stomach virus." Macao blinked and then fell off the barstool. "And an inner ear infection."

Romeo snickered. No amount of excuses would wash this one away.

Elfman picked up his friend and put him back on the stool. Macao wobbled a bit but smiled and downed his new drink.

"I need to get him home," Romeo told the giant. Elfman laughed. "You wanna help me carry him home. I don't think he can walk straight to save his life."

A crash and a stumble and Wakaba fell beside them. He grabbed the countertop and pulled himself up. Finally sitting down, the man blinked tears from his eyes. Falling on his head hurt no matter how drunk you got. "I'll get him home for you."

"Thanks but no thanks. You can't walk straight either."

"I can too!"

"We're over here." Elfman said to him.

"I can too." Wakaba turned and smiled at them. Yeah, he was drunk too. "You don't think I can do it?"

A heavy pressure fell down on the guild. Anyone that was drunk suddenly sobered got ready for a fight. The guild doors opened slowly and there stood Naruto. His right eye was bleeding. He looked dead on his feet. Gajeel cowered behind Levi, fearful that Naruto might just round on him again. The blond ignored everyone as he marched slowly towards the counter and ordered a glass of water. His right eye burned a little brighter and more blood began to seep from it.

Two drinks later and Elfman approached him. "Are you okay?"

Naruto downed a third and nodded slowly. "Somewhat... How are you guys?"

"Okay. All things considered, anyways."

He took another drink and then felt small hands on the right side of his face. A wet cloth was placed just below his eye and he saw tiny hands washing away the blood. He'd forgotten that using that jutsu made his right eye bleed.

The hands belonged to a petite girl with long, dark blue hair that reached down to her waist, and two bangs framing her face which reached down to her chest. She had very pretty brown eyes, elongated canine, which Naruto noted rather quickly. She wore a yellow, bare-back dress and sandals with wing designs on them. She had their guild stamp on her right shoulder.

"You're hurt," she said softly.

"Nothing like pain to let you know you're alive." He faced her fully.

He spied a white cat with pink ears and brown eyes. She only had two whisker marks on each side of her face. Her tail twitched and he spied a pink bow on the end of it. Unlike Kurama or Happy, she wore a top. It was mustard yellow with a pink bowtie.

"It's not your eye." Naruto smiled down at the little girl. She put a hand on his chest. "It's your soul that's hurting." He licked his lips and ordered another drink. "You don't seem like the others. You seem a bit more… factual. No. Maybe a bit more of a realist."

"One could probably say that." The small white cat glared at him. "I haven't introduced myself. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, S-Rank Mage of Fairy Tail."

The little girl blushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry. My name is Marvell Wendy." She bowed respectfully. "This is Carla, my friend."

"Pleasure to meet the both of you. By the mark on your shoulder, I assume you just joined the guild?"

"Yesterday, actually."

The dark blue haired girl smiled softly at him. The blond downed another drink before he said, "Welcome to Fairy Tail. It'll be nice having kids running around here again." Naruto picked her up and put her on his shoulder. She squealed in terror to whatever it was he had planned for her. Elfman gave him a curious gaze before the blond said, "Shoulder Loli. I have one again."

"Yes. We're all very impressed."

"You're just mad because you never got to have one. Me on the other hand…" He looked over the members present. "Someone find me some bells and an eye-patch!"

"Okay," the giant of a man snapped. He grabbed Wendy from Naruto's shoulder and put her down. "Naruto, go home and just… I don't know… go to sleep. You look like you could use it."

The blond nodded and downed another cup before paying his tab and leaving. When the blond was gone, Gajeel came out from behind Levi and said, "Is he gone?"

The blue haired girl laughed lightly. "Yes. Gajeel, you have nothing to worry about. Naruto's not going to hurt you anymore." She paused and then added, "Unless you do something to entice his anger, anyways."

"He seems like a brute," Carla said with a roll of her eyes.

"He isn't like that," Wendy told her companion. All eyes turned on the girl. Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest. Seeing all eyes on her, Wendy squirmed. "He is suffering inside. His soul aches. I can sense it in him. He hides it well."

"Naruto is among the few members who could truly say he knows pain and loneness like no other." Makarov took a big gulp from his beer and looked at his reflection. "Naruto is someone that only a few could truly every understand. He doesn't like to let others know about his pain, though."

"With the way he came in here, he appeared half-dead on his feet." Gajeel stood imposing over Wendy. He was annoyed with her because like him she was a Dragon Slayer. To make it worse she had a cat like that idiot Natsu. He was a Dragon Slayer too, damn it. Why didn't he have one? "So what did he do? Where's he been? Why wasn't he here when Laxus went berserk? We could have used his help."

"Naruto was a mission for the Council. It was a SSS-Rank mission given by them only." Makarov paused and took another sip from his beer. "For those types of missions you need a team. Naruto is among the few people in the world that can do them without a team. His power is that great. He plays the fool for all of you. He hides his true power for fear of rejection and need to never return to his old self. Wendy, you are right. His soul aches. While the body may be capable of enduring, his soul can bear no more pain."

Gajeel inhaled deeply. Naruto was a monster then. Laxus was a monster of pure brute force and speed. What was Naruto then? Was he some sort of a Demon? Gajeel put it out of his mind. He didn't want to face him in combat.

(-)

Naruto blinked into his home and put his back against the wall. He was still angry. Getting drunk wasn't going to make him feel better. He just needed to relax and be alone. The blond checked the food dishes and saw that they hadn't been touched. The water bowl was still full and looked like it hadn't been touched.

Deciding that it wasn't worth his time to figure out, he tore his wallet out and began taking his gear off. He noticed that his wallet had strangely enough lost its identification card to his bank. Figuring that Makarov was somehow the reason, he put it out of his mind and hung his coat up in the closet. He walked to the fridge, noticed that it was fully stocked with beer, and pulled one out. It wouldn't get him drunk, but it would sure taste good.

"That tickles!"

The blond arched a brow.

"Don't bite me!" A sharp cry of pain, more in the form of laughter, sounded from behind his door to the master bedroom. "You are not as good as Naruto. I will have you know-Ouch! You're nails hurt!"

"Not my fault. Where's the beer? I thought I had so more in here."

_Mirajane? What's she doing here this late?_

He inched around the room and spied a peculiar scene.

Both girls were lying on the bed naked and feeling over each other. Cana was on the bottom. She had a beer in one hand and in the other hand she was holding onto Mira's breast and fondling. She sucked on the nipple and bit it. Mirajane laughed from on top of her and worked Cana's pussy to make her stop and moan. Mirajane's other hand was used to keep her body above Cana's and Naruto noticed that there was a spilt beer beside it. It looked like it was still partially full. Neither girl seemed aware of him or the spilt beer. Strange that Cana wouldn't, all things considered.

Naruto just stood in the doorframe watching as Mirajane played with Cana. Cana tried to take charge but couldn't. She even tried shoving her down. Mirajane must have been grinning because eventually she slipped down and started to suck on her. Cana arched her back and grabbed a fist full of Mirajane's hair. The white haired girl just laughed as she pushed herself up to and crawled towards Cana's face. She cupped her face and kissed her passionately.

"Am I interrupting?" The two broke a part and spun around to face him. Cana had a goofy grin on her face. Mirajane just blinked a few times and then found her beer and took a swig. "And you get onto me for sleeping around with other women, Cana. What does this make you?"

"I'm a woman. I can sleep with other women if I want." She tapped Mirajane on the shoulder. The woman was way out of it. She looked like she was about to pass out right there. "You should probably go sleep on the couch. Can't have you taking my man away from me."

Naruto laughed and then stopped immediately. Mirajane spread her legs and smiled at Naruto. "I'm ready, Naruto!" Yep. She was definitely drunk.

Cana sputtered and growled, but said no intelligent words. Naruto's response was to shrug, smile, and then dive out of his clothes while making a clone. The clone jumped Cana while he jumped Mirajane. Cana had no problems with it, or so it seemed to Naruto. It was four hours later that the blond was finally able to learn what happened to Kurama and where the kits. While he was happy he didn't know about it sooner, he was also sad to know that Kojoro was in the vet clinic for a broken leg and that she lost two of her baby teeth. They applied healing magic to numb the pain and speed up the process of creating her new teeth since they were nowhere near ready to come in.

He made a mental note to go visit her tomorrow. Kurama and the other kits were with her. Cana hadn't the heart to make them leave.

(-)

The first place Naruto visited was the Vet Clinic. Kurama was asleep beside his daughter. She looked rather peaceful at the moment. Ikari and Cornelia had their own little beds inside the small kennel and were sleeping on each other. Cana and Mirajane were speaking with the vet that had reset her leg.

Kurama stirred when he felt Naruto's gaze on him. Yawning, he stretched and snorted at him. _**"Nice. Should have killed him, though. But that's just my opinion as a father, I guess."**_

"_I couldn't kill him. I'd feel too bad in the long run. I didn't turn him in either."_

"_**Well, what's done is done." **_The two girls walked in with smiles. **"Can I take her home now?"**

"They just gave the all clear," Cana told him. Kurama breathed a sigh of relief. Kojoro hadn't woken up yet. She was still sleeping peacefully. She was about as lazy as Kurama was when Naruto had first met him. Always sleep and never one to engage in conversation unless there was something he wanted to mock him about. Kojoro was sort of the same way. "I'll carry her."

The bill was paid for. Naruto had Cornelia riding his front coat pocket. She kept her gaze on Kojoro as she awoke and looked around. Ikari didn't keep his eye on her. He was cuddled in Mirajane's arms. Kurama was perched on Cana's shoulders and looking down on his daughter. Every so often he would look around as if watching their perimeter and then return to watching her.

The guild seemed rather lively when they showed up. Natsu was spiting flames and roaring in joy about something. Gray was naked and looking for a fight with the pink haired mage.

"Why's everyone so happy?"

Macao put a hand on the whisker faced mans' shoulder. "You have no idea on how much this means to us."

"What?"

"The donation!"

"That was a good thing, Naruto!" Makarov shouted. The grin he had made the blond curious. He pushed past the ground and looked at the white haired man and then the document he was holding. "You did real good! Real good by giving us that donation to help for repairing the town and for the account we have for when stuff gets broken that we have to pay for."

Counting all the zeros behind the numbers, Naruto just laughed. Kurama was cackling and whipping his leg when Cana looked over to the amount that Naruto had probably not given them. She gawked at the amount and pointed accusingly at him. Kurama pawed Naruto in the head and laughed at him when Cana began growling and slapping him for what he did. Mirajane looked a little put out as well, even though she wasn't in a relationship with the blond.

"This should last a year or two," Makarov continued. "I really can't thank you enough."

"Two things. First off; this isn't going to last past six months. You have Natsu, Gray, and Erza as your prime causes for destruction. Natsu is the worst, because he will totally lose control and just wreck everything to find and main whatever it is he's chasing after." Natsu nodded vigorously. "Gray will scar people for life because he walks around naked all the time. How many people had complained or wanted compensation for seeing him naked because someone wound up getting therapy for seeing his naked form? Don't answer. I already know the number. And last but not least, Erza. She has a violent streak, won't take no for an answer, will break anything or anyone for information, and is just as destructive, if not more so, than Natsu when angry. Those three alone are your main problems outside of Gildarts who is pretty damn lazy with his magic."

Makarov began to whimper. That was a good description of his guild and its more destructive members. Too bad said people didn't feel the same. They were glaring at the blond as though he had accused them on the spot of doing these things, rather than just pointing it out. They weren't in a forgiving mood. Not after his threat to kill Gajeel still hanging over their heads.

"Secondly; this is nothing compared to what I have for funds in the bank. Just ask Mirajane. She knows how much I keep in their because she still has her name on my account because I'm just too lazy to have it removed. I still need to do that and I need to get Cana's name on the account. If Mirajane hasn't taken any money from account since we broke up, you only took out about a fifth of what I own. Should have pulled out more."

"I did take my name off the account already."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I took it off the day we broke up. Don't you remember?"

"Honestly, I don't."

"**Shocking. Truly shocking."**

"Shut up you. Don't make me knock you off Cana's shoulders. It's too early for us to start that crap."

"**Too early? It's two in the afternoon! By now you'd be strangling me and I'd be picking fights with Happy! Speaking of which."**

Kurama dashed and tackled the blue cat. The two started fighting on the spot.

Sighing, the blond sat down and noticed the stares he was getting. Cana noticed them but did nothing. Mirajane walked back behind the bar and started getting ready for work. She was late, but no one seemed to mind or care for where she'd been. Thanks to her dress no one noticed that she walked with her legs slightly spread apart. Not having sex for so long made her really sore. It was fun and worth the pain. That much was for damn sure. Makarov, however, did take notice of their starring and patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"I need you run an errand for me. Unless you have something else you were going to do today."

Naruto blinked once and then nodded. Cana looked worried.

"I need you to deliver this letter to Porlyusica. It's my thanks for having her heal me while Laxus was doing his thing. I never got around to sending this to her. She's probably very angry. Also, I need my meds picked up as well."

The blond understood. He wanted to leave anyways. The guild just couldn't look past his previous actions. He'd give them some more time before attempting to explain why he did what he did.


	11. Dark Pasts, A Bright Future

I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

From the minds of the HumanWiki and Myevltwin.

Anything you read in this fic should not be recreated or taken serious. If you find this stuff offensive, do not read this fic. You have been warned.

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 10

Carla wanted nothing more than to be out of the intoxicating air of the guild at the moment. These people were drinking themselves silly. Weren't they supposed to drink later in the day and not before noon? There had to be a limit to when they could serve alcohol and when they couldn't.

"Did you find one yet?" she asked a little impatiently. Her sixth sense began to tingle. Her tail went rigid and then relaxed.

"Carla!" Happy shouted. He presented her with a fish. "I got this for you! Will you accept it?"

"No."

Dejected, the blue cat walked off and sat down beside Natsu.

Kurama was sitting on top of the job board looking down at the whole scene. He snickered at Happy and then looked at Wendy. His gaze was soon drawn to Carla. The white cat glared at him and turned away from him. He didn't care in the long run. She was cute, but she was a cat. He'd choke on his pride before he had feelings for a cat.

"How about this one?" Wendy took one of the requests down and showed it to her friend. "Help Pick Apples."

"Sure. I have no problem with it."

Wendy happily put the quest on the bar where Mirajane was. The barmaid smiled warmly as she took the offered request and ran it through. When she came back, she sat it down and pointed at something. "Unless you can make solid copies of yourself, you're going to be there for a while. Why not take someone with you?"

"Are you volunteering?" Carla asked.

"I don't do these anymore. I only do the photo shoots and work as a barmaid." Wendy suddenly looked very dejected. "Don't worry! I someone that'll be more than happy to help! Be right back!" Mirajane dashed off and ran through the guild looking for someone.

Gajeel plopped down in the seat next to her and ordered a glass of water. Wendy looked up at and smiled nervously. He glared at the cat more than he did at Wendy. He looked scary. Like a brute. Carla hadn't said two words to the Iron Dragon Slayer. Wendy hadn't either.

"How come you have a cat?" he finally asked her.

"Carla?" He nodded. "I'm not sure. We just sort of bounded." Carla had no words on the matter. In fact, she seemed to have disappeared. Kurama kept his gaze on Gajeel and then hopped off the board. "And who are you?"

"**Kurama. And you are the Sky Dragon Slayer, correct?" **The dark blued haired girl nodded timidly. Kurama sighed. **"You remind me of someone. You're shy." **She blushed from embarrassment. Gajeel gave the red fox a light glare. **"You're not the first person to join this guild and be shy at start. We have a habit of taking shy people and turning them into people like Erza or Levi. You should have seen Mirajane when she first joined. She was a violent woman that fought with everyone and everything she could get her hands on."**

Carla appeared behind the nine-tailed fox. "Telling stories isn't a good thing. It's not nice."

"**Ah, the aloof cat finally talks to me. How interesting."**

"I make a habit of not speaking to brutal creatures." Carla looked him up and down. "So what are you? You're not like me. How do you speak?"

"**I'm a Nine-Tailed Fox. I am beyond mortal thoughts and understanding. My power is whatever I choose to make it. The ability to speak is but a passing thought for me. I can easily change my way of speaking to a form you could never understand."**

"Don't insult me."

"**I do no such thing, Carla. If I were to insult you, you'd know it. Trust me. I have a very strong disliking for cats. Cats that can talk are even higher on that list."**

"So it's a matter of pride, is it? Don't throw me in the same boat as that male cat."

"**I wouldn't dream of it. You seem more focused on the big picture, unlike the blue rat." **Carla gave him a light smile. She was amused at his disliking for Happy. **"I admit that I'm annoyed with him only because he doesn't think things through. He'd fish from an empty lake than think about moving to a different one. When he was little we had to remind him and Natsu that they couldn't fish from the lakes because the flaming retard would burn the ice clean off, thus hurting and killing their precious food beneath the ice."**

Gajeel began to laugh. "Did he do anything else stupid when he was a kid?"

Kurama turned and sat on his haunches. Gajeel suddenly had a desire to not be the center of attention. **"How about you go with her? She does need a small team to pick the apples. Why not take the new Dragon Slayer?"**

"Why should I go?"

"**Would you like to get on Naruto's better half? Doing jobs with him and behaving might make things better for you. Don't you agree?" **Wendy looked between the two and then eyed the request again. It didn't really say anything about a team. **"It won't say that it needs a team because Naruto was always the one to do it in the past. If you didn't already know, he can make solid copies of himself that can do anything he can do. Gajeel should know all about them."**

The Iron Dragon Slayer nodded grimly. He had avoided them during the war between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail. He had no intention of being in the path of the original when he was angry, and he had no desire to be in the path of a copy that could be dispersed in one hit. Mind you, he never saw a single clone get destroyed, but he did know that if he couldn't hit the real one, it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference to fight a clone that could be destroyed in one hit.

Wendy still seemed puzzled. "He has a replication ability?" The white cat asked. "I suppose when sheer brute force won't work, numbers will."

"**You got it all wrong. While my pet might have a superior strength to those in this room, he is anything but dumb. To call him such is an insult even to me. He only acts the part. Or did that little part pass you by when your dear companion brought it up a few days ago? She did say that his soul ached, didn't she? She even went on to say that he played his part well."**

"How do you know that? You weren't here."

"**I was here. You just didn't know about it." **

"No. I would have smelled you."

"**Do I smell any different from Naruto?" **Gajeel went silent. **"I've been around him for so long that our scents are basically the same. You're not the first to assume otherwise because we're different species." **

The former Phantom Lord member seemed willing to give the small fox that one. He sniffed the air several times as if checking for a hostile. Natsu joined them at the bar with Lucy when Juvia said, "Juvia has been curious about you for a while now." Kurama cocked his head a bit. "Why do you refer to Naruto as your pet? Isn't it the other way around?"

"**No. I have a pet human. He has no pets at all. He's lucky I let him mate with that brunette."**

"You mean Cana?" Lucy asked him. Kurama rolled his eyes. Had Lucy not known or did she forget the she bought a bed that had once been used by the two for passionate love making not too long ago. "What do you mean by mate? Don't you mean date?"

"No he doesn't it." Carla coughed and walked a little closer to the group. "One would think that you would see it from his perspective, given all the time he's spent here. You believe that we date our own kind and never cheat on them with another. In reality this is false. We mate with one of our own at a time, yes, but we do so with many others if the one we had wasn't suitable. You chose to date one of your own species instead of mate with one and move on. Kurama here obviously doesn't do that. He sees Naruto's mating with this Cana as a trivial thing. Am I right?"

"**Quite so. Nice to have an intelligent cat for once. I might not harbor such ill will towards you for being this intelligent. Yes. She is right. What you might see as wrong is only natural for us. I have only mated with one fox. This is true. But I will simply move on because she is no longer desperate and looking for a mate to bare her kits. I will mate with more vixens in time. Relationships mean little to me. The bound between my kits and I are different if only because they represent a piece of me. It is only natural for a father to be protective of his kits while they're still young."**

"So you're a player?" Gajeel asked him.

"**You really are as dumb as Natsu, aren't you?" **Gajeel looked ready to strangle him. **"I wouldn't do that if I were you." **

The tail end of, "...I say no, what happens?" sounded just before a loud crack echoed through the guild hall. Naruto, Cana, Mirajane, and Makarov walked down the stairs with said blond holding his head where a bruise was forming. "I liked you better when you weren't violent. I want the other Mirajane back. The one that didn't hit me for asking questions." Mirajane hit him again, this time laughing as she did. "Violent woman! Why am I attracted to violent women?"

"You're attracted to beautiful woman that you could never hurt because you're too kind. That's why."

"Makarov, that doesn't explain anything."

"You're just mad because we never let you hit us back," Cana told him.

"Oh yeah? Then what do you call me sticking my dick in you and making you scream and cry? That sure seems like me hitting you and making you cry."

Mirajane hit him again and pointed at Wendy. Said girl didn't seem all that startled by their conversation of choice. Naruto didn't think it was weird. A little girl like her probably heard a bunch of weird things living with Dragons and then raised by a guild that had turned out to be fake. She had to have heard some wild tales and all that. And according to what Erza said, she knew Siegrain or Jellel or whatever his name was. How she knew him was a mystery, but she said that it was he who had taken her to her former guild.

So as the blond continued to wait for a response from the small girl, he noticed the white cat was seemingly becoming more irritated as time went on. "She reads," Carla finally exploded. "She reads these disgusting books about love and sex. I have no idea where she got it, but I do know that she shouldn't be reading them."

Naruto shoved Gajeel off the barstool, apologizing without looking at him, and stared at her. "What sort of books are we talking about here?"

"The disturbing kind that a little girl of her age shouldn't be reading."

"Doesn't help me."

Wendy began pilfering her book bag for something. Carla sighed. It was at that moment that the little girl pulled out a very familiar book. Cana sat down and ordered a keg of beer. Mirajane mumbled something and walked to get her order. Makarov blinked and looked accusingly at the blond while the rest of the guild clammed up and suddenly had their eyes on the book. Naruto took it with a nod from the girl and read the cover. "Ichi Ichi Paradise: The Light in the Darkness."

Cana took the keg and brought it down on Naruto's head. Just before this could take place, Wendy snatched up the book and covered it protectively from the liquid as it splashed all over the floor, the blond, Carla, and herself.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Cana screamed at him. "Why would you give a book like that to a little girl?!"

"She bought it." Carla said heatedly. It didn't take her long to put it all together. "So you're the author of this horrendous thing you call a book?"

"It is a book," Naruto defended. Gajeel was already flipping through the book. He stopped and started reading about a third of the way through. "To be honest, my master was the one who started the series and I just continued it when he died. No one here has anything to complain about it. In fact, those books led to some fun adventures in this place. Like the time Levi tried to see a "Furry Creature" or when Natsu tried to see the "Magical Tunnel" all those years ago."

"Never saw that damn tunnel," Natsu snapped. "Where is this tunnel that you speak of in those books?"

"I'll tell you when you're older." Natsu sighed and wondered off with Lucy. The busty mage seemed rather willing to make him feel better at the moment. "Besides, his was all about weird angles and things that don't work right. I mean, has anyone ever heard of a man having sex with a woman while hanging upside on a tree while her brother watches and screws his ex-girlfriend in front of their parents? I've yet to hear or see anything of that nature."

"That doesn't sound believable." Wendy snatched her book back up and put it in her bag. "So you're the author? That's so cool. Can you answer a question for me? Suzy and Stacy are two different people that have never spoken or seen each other. Yet, in Ichi Ichi Paradise: Shadowed in Darkness, you had the two of them walk through the same door going two different ways at the same time with Stacy leaving and Suzy entering. Both had a conversation with Den, but he talked to both while neither talked to the other, but neither of them seemed to understand that the other was there during the whole thing as you said that the walls were paper thin. Are Stacy and Suzy capable of seeing Den but not each other because Den, as you said, seemed confused when he noticed that neither talked nor say the other? In fact; you had him say, "Why is everyone talking to me but not to each other," directly after Suzy left."

Levi stared at her from her spot at the bar and walked over to the small girl. Naruto was smiling from ear to ear. "Is she right?"

"Yes." Levi smacked him. "What?! You never caught on! That one scene was a set up for the next one that you're reading that solves the mystery between the two! You know that. I told you. I _showed _you!" Levi gawked and hit him some more. Her little firsts could do nothing to him. Erza looked baffled and annoyed by this new information. She brought out her own copy of Shadowed in Darkness and hastily began reading it anew. "Yes. Stacy and Suzy aren't capable of seeing each other because both live in two different realities in a sense. Both can interacted with the world, but can't see, hear, smell, or touch each other because they are not living in the same reality."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Erza shouted. She snapped her book closed and pointed accusingly at him. "Then what was the point in Den in the whole story? Is he not living in the same reality?" Naruto gave her a blank stare. Erza gasped and walked out saying, "I'm not sticking around for spoilers!"

Watching her leave with a shrug, Wendy turned back to face the blond with a big smile. "I'm your number one fan."

"Hired!" Grabbing her up, he placed her on his shoulder and proudly displayed her. "Number One Fan and Shoulder Loli! Top that!"

"Naruto," Mirajane said in a sweet voice. "Go with her and get the job done, please while I have a chat with Cana."

"Why would I do that?"

"Do you really wanna stick around for girl talk?"

"Depends on where it leads."

"It won't lead to sex." Cana took a big swig of her new keg.

"What's in it for me if I go with her? I'm going to be nice and just give her all the money anyways. So what's in for me?"

"Sex."

"DEAL!" The blond grabbed the request, picked up the cat, and put Kurama in Wendy's lap. "Let's get this done. I'll use it for inspiration to get the next book out faster!" Wendy squealed with delight and happily pointed forward towards the door.

Gajeel leaned closer to Cana and asked, "Is he always like that?"

"Somewhat."

(-)

Dropping the last basket into onto the trailer, Wendy whipped her brow with her forearm. She was surprised by Naruto's replication ability. It was an amazing thing. The farmer was delighted to see Naruto more than he was Wendy, but she had guessed why shortly after seeing the place. One hundred square acres of land held nothing but apple trees. Each tree held about ten or more apples on them. It was a lot of work. The man had usually asked for a large team to be sent and thus paid high dollar since he made it all back selling his produce.

The reward was worth it twice over. Wendy had a place to stay, but it wasn't cheap. This would take care of her place for a good long while. Though she did need a bank account. Naruto promised to get that squared away as soon as they got back. They hadn't been here for more than hour and while the old farmer was sipping tea, Wendy had stuck with what she hoped was the original blond and probed his mind for every question concerning his series that she wanted to know about or confirm. Naruto had been a bit stingy and only answered a few, leaving the rest with, "I can't talk about right now," as his answer.

Done with the hard work, she watched as each of the replicas began to disperse. She hadn't bothered trying to count them earlier but now she was interested. Naruto wobbled beside her and then shook his head when they were all gone. They had started to speed up and she lost count.

"Roughly five hundred," he told her. Wendy's eyes widened. "I can make more if I wanted to. Let's go get your money so we can go to the bank. They'll be closing soon."

Wendy nodded vigorously. She already needed to pay the tab for her meals and she still had to pay the fee for her room at Fairy Hills.

The farmer spoke to Naruto for a bit before handing the money over the small girl. She made it disappear, much to the confusion of the blond. Her dress didn't' seem to have pockets so where had she put it. Deciding it was a mystery best left unsolved until after she was eighteen, he put her back on his shoulder and started walking. Wendy hummed happily while Carla grumbled about being forced to ride on his shoulder as well. She kept a good eye on the small fox as he enjoyed the attention he got from Wendy.

"So where did you get Kurama from?"

"**I got him. It's the other way around."**

"We sort of grew up together," Naruto answered. Kurama rolled his eyes and went back to resting his head on her lap. She smiled and continued to pet him. "One might say we found each other and that was that. We came to understand each other and grew attached. We've been together for so long that I see him more as a brother than a pet."

Kurama snorted and Carla gave them a curious glance. Naruto ignored the white cat. Wendy didn't. She looked to the blond and then stopped petting Kurama. He looked up and then gave a shrug as he put his head back down.

Naruto could tell what she was doing. She was reading his heart again. He grasped that she didn't have the ability, but it was something akin to it. She understood that he suffered, but how deep it went was beyond her. She could just feel it in him. Understanding it was different. Only someone that had endured suffering like his could understand him. She might have been a victim to an extent. She didn't talk much about her past, only that she spent a lot of time learning from her Dragon. Wendy was a shy child, but she did show courage from time to time. She told him about how she took the words from Natsu and made her own courage to fight. She was a healer or support mage. Not a fighter.

But she understood him. Maybe that was why she seemed more interested in him than the others. She didn't remember her parents, only the Dragon. And why was that? Why did the Dragons seem to be the only thing the Dragon Slayers remembered? They didn't remember their real parents.

The bank came into view and Naruto put her down. They walked inside and got things set up. It was an hour later before they walked. Kurama whimpered and whined the whole time. Carla mocked him. He snapped at her, but his words had no bite.

After that they went to get something to eat where Naruto paid for it. Kurama proved insightful as he told Carla what the best food was. She listened, but made no promises in what she'd eat. Seeing as Naruto was paying, she made damn sure to order the most expensive food possible that she liked. Wendy was kind and ordered something cheap, but filling. Naruto showed how much he didn't care about his money and ordered a lot of food while Kurama ordered the biggest steak possible.

"So you make all this money," Carla stopped and put a paw to her mouth as she burped, "and just blow it on random things? Why?"

Naruto slurped up the broth from his soup and answered with, "It's not like I can take it to the grave with me. I make money. So I spend the money. What I buy might be random junk or things that would boggle your minds, but it works out in the end. I'm not that crazy with it though. I mean… I did wrack up a one hundred thousand jewel water bill, but that was mostly Kurama's fault. Then there was the time that Jet wanted to have a race and I made a bet with him of about one million jewels. He won. Go figure."

"**You threw that race and you know it!"**

"Why would throw the race?" The cat asked. "You would lose a lot of money."

Naruto sighed. Hadn't he just explained that? "You should come to poker night next week then. I'm still the King. Last time I played I lost to Lucy. Though, in my defense, she flashed me and I dropped the cards."

"**Best set of breasts I've ever seen."**

"Agreed."

"Aren't you dating Cana?"

"Yeah. But I can look and not touch if I want to. I'm a player. Not by nature though. More like force. My Sensei, my master, and my best friend, all happen to be extreme perverts. My sensei was the number one fan for my masters' adult literature that I took up after he died. My best friend happens to be an even bigger player than me. I just sort of caught up in the wave of being a player by all three of them and it sort of dragged me along for the ride. I really can't stop it. I pray that I will one day find a cure for this problem of mine."

Wendy giggled. He made it sound like an illness. It probably was for him.

Carla seemed unimpressed with the blond. Kurama was a different matter. She didn't like him, but he was insightful and was willing to backtalk her when she did something he didn't like. He wasn't cruel or hateful; he was just telling her how things were or disagreeing with something she said that he stood against. She finally asked, "So who is the mother to those kits you have? I've yet to see her around? Or did you mate with an alley fox?"

"**No. She's shy around humans. She was hurt a long time ago and has a very narrow opinion them, just as I have." **Wendy looked hurt. Naruto had ignored him. **"Wendy, you are a kind girl. I can see that in you. I harbor no ill will towards you. But most humans I've seen tend to be very cruel from time to time. Like right now. Naruto isn't going to do anything to stop it, but haven't you noticed how the others look at him right now?"**

"That's enough, Kurama." Naruto gave him a warning glare. "Let them have their opinion on my actions. If they can't understand it, then I won't make them understand it."

"**One would think that they would have an understanding of you, regardless. All those years you spent looking over them, training them, playing with them, and making sure they were alright and happy, and yet now they turn on you for one little thing. Because they saw a side of you that you never show them. Proof that humans will change their opinions of people so quickly without understanding the reason."**

The blond growled at him and gave him a warning glare. He wisely kept off the subject after that. Wendy did seem to catch what he was getting at. She saw the looks, but thought nothing of it.

"How were your meals?"

"Good," Naruto answered quickly. Wendy beamed a big smile at the waitress. "Do you want anything else, Wendy?"

"Such an adorable name!" The waiter gushed. Carla wasn't amused. "She's so cute."

"Yeah she is. Wanna make one just like her?"

"Daddy," Wendy said suddenly, pouting. "You said you were going to remain faithful to mommy!"

Naruto gave the girl a shocked expression. That was straight up cruel. She was a nice girl and all innocent, but damn that was cruel. This made the waitress smile sweetly but leave after dropping the bill off. Carla smiled at her retreating form.

Aren't you dating Cana?" Wendy asked him.

"Of course."

The dark blue haired girl looked thoughtful for a moment. She caught Kurama's gave. "Buy me desert and I won't tell her." Carla gawked and looked at her companion with a slacked jaw. "For a month."

"And if I say no?"

"I tell her."

Naruto stared at the little girl. She was kind and innocent, but that obviously wasn't the full case here. Maybe Kurama put her up to it? This was something he'd do. Wendy probably didn't even know that this was still a regular occurrence. It was just one of the fun things that kept him and Cana together. He ran off and had sex with some random girl and she bitched and complained when she found out. He even told her a few times for fun._ Maybe I really am a masochist._

The waitress returned looking just as normal. Unknown to the group, they hadn't had sex. It was for something else. "Anything else?"

"Desert!" Wendy shouted. She pointed to what she wanted. Naruto wasn't sure what it was when it came in, but he was sure that it was something he wouldn't like eating. It looked like a mix between cake, pie, and ice-cream. Or maybe it was just the stuff they put on it.

(-)

Cana found Mirajane in the back doing dishes. It was time to talk.

"We need to get this out of the way," Cana told her friend. Mirajane nodded mutely. "Naruto is my boyfriend. I feel that I need to lay down the law for what you did all those days ago. I avoided it and tried to put it out of my mind, but the conversation we had before he showed up still rings in my ears. Do you still love Naruto?"

She put the cup down and inspected her nails. "Of course. But I'm happy with him being with you."

Cana nodded like she understood that logic. She didn't understand the logic or what she said. She was listening to what her friend had said, but she wasn't _listening _to what she had said. It was like reading between the lines. "He's mine. You can't have him."

Now the white haired woman was smiling like she knew something Cana didn't. She wasn't going to ruin their friendship over a boy. "I don't want him back. I do, but I don't. You understand." Cana shook her head. She was being honest now. "You haven't had anything to drink, right?" Cana nodded. "Okay, listen. I love Naruto from the bottom of my heart. I would like nothing more than to be with him again, but I'm perfectly happy with him being with you and not being."

"Then why'd you have sex with him in my bed?"

"I was drunk. You were drunk. We were both drunk!"

"But Naruto wasn't! He wasn't drunk off his ass like we were! And you spread your legs for him! I seem to remember you saying that you wanted to do it again some other time! What does that mean?"

"Well I was drunk, so I imagine that my mind was a little fuzzy at the time. From what I remember, I had stared at him for twenty seconds in complete confusion, or something like that, and then did that. And you're the whole reason I did it. You took me out of my clothes and said you'd make me feel good. It wasn't my fault we were spread eagle on the bed when he showed up with you dominating me."

The card user sputtered and coughed. "I dominated you? You were always dominating Naruto in bed! You even took charge just like how you used to do! You rocked his world and he rocked yours in our bed after I told you to go sleep on the couch. You're coming after my man, aren't you?"

"We were drunk. Weird things happen when we're drunk. Don't believe me?" Mirajane walked off and then returned with a few photos. "Look familiar?"

Cana snatched them up and then went red. Yes. They looked real familiar. One was a photo of Cana drunk and passed out on the countertop with her clothes off. Another was a picture of her with drawing on her face after she drank too much. And there was one of her passed out on the floor holding a very scared Macao from like seven years ago. The poor guy looked totally scared for his life.

"You can't accuse me of anything when this is you just passed out. We got worse photos in the back. It was all Masters' idea. They have photos of me. They have photos of Naruto. And we got photos of Elfman back there. Everyone that has gotten stone cold drunk and passed out or did something stupid beyond fighting, has a photo of them back there on the board to light Master's mood when someone broke something that they shouldn't have while on a job."

She took the photos back.

"So yes. I slept with Naruto while I was drunk. You joined in. We had a threesome! Let it go. It's your fault for being a bitch and making you drag you back his place to straighten you out and make you see your mistake. And… you were the one that went and bought more beer, mind you, further clouding our minds. It's all your fault."

"You spread your legs for him."

"And you did the same with your ass as I recall. It was a one night stand. Why is this one getting too you so badly. Because I'm in his ex?"

"Yeah. I'm supposed to be mad."

The two stared down and then Mirajane started to laugh. Cana soon joined her and slapped her friend on the back. It was great to know that they weren't going to become enemies over this little moment in their lives. It was stupid fighting over the same man.

"In all seriousness; what are we going to do?"

(-)

Kurama was the first to sense the change in the air. It wasn't a minute later that his fears and hopes were realized when the bell sounded. The guild became alive. Some rushed the doors while others rushed windows. It was a sight to behold for all that had never seen the guild this happy before.

Decided that he needed to get up, the small fox wobbled over to where Kojoro lay and nudged her with his nose. She looked around confused as to what was going on, and whimpered for attention. Lucy picked her up and felt just as out of place as the small kit did. The other two acted like the others. Was it possible that they knew what was coming? Lucy highly doubted that she could.

The bell continued to ring until a voice shouted out, "Magnolia is changing into Gildarts shift! All townspeople quickly get yo your set position! I'll repeat…"

Lucy began to tune them out. "A one hundred years quest? Do you mean that the task has been going on for the past one hundred years?" The big breasted girl stopped and then considered what had also just been announced. "What's the Magnolia's Gildarts Shift?"

"You'll see it if you go outside."

Though against her own better judgment, she ventured a glance out the window.

The ground began to rumble and then everything got strange. Magic had limits. This had to be beyond magic. The entire town began to reform and lift from the ground. At first it appeared like the guild was sinking. It wasn't. The entire town was being raised, leaving a long, narrow, path for this Gildarts fellow. The entire town had been divided.

Lucy freaked and nearly crushed Kojoro. The little kit yelped and Lucy lightened up.

"Gildarts uses a magic that smashes everything that he touches into pieces so, when he's not being careful, he walks through the town crashing private houses."

"How could he be so stupid?"

"**Are you really asking that question after constantly teaming up with ash breath, the stripper, and the redheaded devil?"**

On that note, Lucy decided that there was no point in arguing against Kurama's logic. Natsu set things on fire just by looking at it sometimes, or so she believed. Gray stripped, obviously. Erza didn't seem like a devil though. Maybe her mood was the thing that made him say that.

The man of the hour showed up. He let out a sigh and looked the place over. "Miss," he addressed Mirajane. "I'm sure that a guild called Fairy Tail was somewhere around here."

"That's right here!" She gave him a happy wave. The man seemed confused still and unbelieving. Three years was a long time so… "And I'm Mirajane."

Kurama started counting down while Naruto shook his head. He made sure to stand far away from Cana. Best not let Gildarts know he was sleeping with his daughter just yet. Not in town anyways.

"YOU LOOK SO DIFFERENT!" He gawked and started checking the place out. Everyone started laughing. "Oh, and so our guild has been renewed!"

"Gildarts!" Natsu's battle cry sounded and he dashed forward with his fists aflame.

"Natsu! Long time no see."

"I said fight with me!"

"Maybe next time," he said with a laugh. He flung the poor boy skyward and laughed even harder when he saw him stick to the ceiling with a loud crack. Natsu said something, but he was already moving on to the next person. "Naruto! How have you been man?" He slapped him on the back. The blond suddenly exploded. "I'm making sure to control my magic, Naruto. Stop being such a scaredy-cat!"

"Control or not, I'm not letting you touch me after what you did last time." The blond materialized on the countertop to the bar and smiled at him. He noticed that a few people had gone silent in their praise at having their strongest member back. "I'm sorry, Gildarts, but I have to go. I have a job that needs doing. I'll swing by your place when I'm done." He gave a mock salute and vanished in a swirl of leafs.

Puzzled, the mage turned and looked at the others. Makarov took a big pull from his drink. That was enough of a clue for him to realize something was wrong. Dropping his bags on the ground, Gildarts ordered a drink. Mirajane happily went and got it for him. Cana sat next to him and tried to take his mind off of the trip he'd had to get back. It was clear he failed the job, but who cares. He was back and she was happy. What more could she really ask for?

He was two drinks in when he finally couldn't take it anymore. "What'd y'all do to him?"

The Erza was silent and feigned confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Gildarts got a refill and clarified. "I've known Naruto for well over twenty years now. He's been a member of this guild for roughly twenty years as well. I know him well enough for us to be considered siblings. The Naruto that I know would blow a job off to hang out with a friend that he hadn't seen in years unless it was something that could start a war or something that could bring about the apocalypse and kill everyone on the planet. Naruto doesn't leave for jobs unless it's one of those circumstances when I or any of you get back, after being gone for three years." The newly returned mage leaned forward. "So what do you all do to him?"

Gildarts saw a lot of lip biting and confusion. His gaze drifted to Erza. She remained strong and imposing. She still looked like the little girl that came in with an eye-patch all those years ago to him.

"We didn't do anything."

"You're lying." Erza looked ready to dispute him when he added, "You were never a good liar, Erza. The fact that you're lying to me means you did do something to him. So what did you do to him?"

"We didn't do anything." Her gaze and voice never betrayed her. Gildarts didn't look impressed or believing. She sighed mentally. "Naruto threatened to kill one of our members. We didn't take too kindly to that."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he didn't like a choice that was made. He refused to understand the situation."

"I'll believe that because I know that's how he is sometimes. However, what I want to know is why he would try to kill one of our members. So please answer that one."

Looking confused, Erza looked at Gajeel. The man didn't seem afraid of Gildarts. But… "He refused to understand the situation. We made a choice and he was sort of against it. It wasn't really a group decision, but Makarov wanted-"

"You're not answering my question!" Gildarts, in a rare show of anger, broke the mug in his hands. "I know Naruto well. I know him so well that I might as well just be his brother. I know that Naruto would never threaten to kill someone without a damn good reason. So what was his reason? And don't beat around the bush this time."

"Makarov let Gajeel join the guild and he didn't too kindly to that because he destroyed our guild and left Levi, Jet, and Droy for dead, bound to a tree." Gray answered for Erza. No point in not bringing it up. "Naruto was way out of line on that one. He beat us up while trying to get to him. He said he was going to kill him for what he did."

Gildarts began ignoring the ice mage and focusing on Gajeel. Suddenly, Gajeel didn't feel all that safe. Gildarts was strong. He understood that much. Jose had been smart to wage war with them while Laxus, Mystogan, and Gildarts were away. He had assumed that Naruto would be gone for a long time as well. His information hadn't been spot on. He had been gone for most of it, but he returned fast enough. But Gildarts wasn't here and he didn't know about the war. That seemed enough to make his jaw clench and his hand crack as he balled it up into a fist.

"And?"

The room was deathly cold suddenly.

"And?" Erza sputtered. "You act like that's not surprising of him? He threatened to kill someone! We don't kill! Ever!"

"Erza, you have no room to talk here." His voice was cold and calculating. She shivered as some part of her mind registered what he was getting at. "Naruto has been there for all of you for a very long time now. He has protected you, taken time out of his life to play and teach you, and even look after you while you were sick. He has been nothing but a protector for all of you. I understand why he did what he did. I want to kill you as well, Gajeel. But I imagine that Naruto put a fear of God into you like no other."

"He did." Gajeel answered tightly. "I did what I did because I was ordered to. He couldn't understand that, I guess."

"No. He could understand an order. Believe me on that." Gildarts gave Makarov a strange look, then turned and said, "That Naruto that left this place was almost the same one that I brought here all those years ago. When I left he was happy, caring, and always smiled like he meant it. That Naruto that just left wasn't him. It was the one that I brought in. One that had been hurt by life and destroyed countless times over. I told him I could take away his pain. Obviously I lied to him now if you're all going to be so quick to judge him for one bad action!"

Gildarts power began to flow from him. The air grew hot suddenly. Everyone started shouting at him. They couldn't accept what he'd done. They didn't understand how Gildarts could. It was hard, obviously, for them to accept that side of him after never seeing it before.

"Silence!" Makarov screamed. They quieted instantly. "Listen here, you brats. I took Naruto in all those years ago when he was a hollowed man and slain by his own emotions. He had nothing left! I took Gajeel in because of the same reason I took in Naruto: Because I believe we should push people back onto the correct path when they had faltered. Naruto had nothing and wanted to feel something more in life. He wanted purpose. I gave him purpose. And now you're destroying what some of us have tried so hard to return to him."

"You brought him here so he could feel something? Feel what?" Erza didn't believe a word. "He threatened to kill someone and you both act like you don't even care."

"Because we don't care!" Gildarts finally shouted back. He stood up, towering over his fellow S-Rank mage. "Naruto was a broken man when I found him. He had nothing left to live for. All he had was a sword, a feeling of emptiness, and memories and pain so deep and gruesome that it makes my stomach turn!" Gildarts sat down, clenched his fist and sighed in frustration. "He never told any of you about his past because he thought you would hate him. He never tells you stories because all of his stories revolve around pain and suffering. All he's known in his life is war!"

They quietly whispered that.

Gildarts looked down at his hand. A part of him couldn't believe what Naruto was like. He was so cold and empty. Devoid of life. That had been years ago. Back before he began to change thanks to them. Slowly but surely he learned how to feel something.

He inhaled slowly and shook his head. "He never told any of you, I imagine. He was a traveling mercenary years ago. He went from place to place, fighting battles for whoever had the most money. I met him during the last war. The Fouled Magic War. The war was anything but nice. It was a war between an Anti-Government group that was striking back against the order and the Magic Council. Things turned bloody real fast and the council wanted to try and resolve things through talk. The Anti-Government didn't want that and the battle became a long war. We fought together. We were being paid by the council for our skills. Naruto wasn't well known for his skills as a warrior or a mage. But he had one unique skill that set him apart from everyone else. He was a pure warrior. He felt neither pity nor pain. Everything was just a means to an end for him. He felt nothing for allies or enemies. He killed them all without question. He could do what a single battalion couldn't and against three times as much. Naruto is, without question, the strongest person in his this world. They made him that way."

It wasn't a lie. Naruto had been a bit of a mercenary back then. He took the most dangerous jobs imaginable and never complained about them. Gildarts accompanied him all the time during this time before the war took place. It was a sad time back then for him. Naruto was a wreck. It took Makarov and Gildarts both a while to patch him up like a leaky ship before he could be left on his own.

"Before he started traveling he was happy. He had friends and family. But they took that away from him. They were murdered them in front of him to teach him to endure pain and suffering. He cried for them. He spent years working with the people who murdered his family and friends. Anyone that ever got close to him, they killed without a care in the world. Eventually they killed his emotions and left him as nothing but a doll for their use. Whenever they needed money they sent him out and he killed people. One day he found a friend. They didn't know. He began to change. They found out and killed that person in front of him. He went berserk and tried to kill them all. He failed."

There was a grain of truth in that. Gildarts had been told much on his past life. He thought it horrible at how young they started training him to kill people. While most his life he hadn't really been trained to kill people, it was in his later years where that training really began to show. It was during the war that it really began to shine and destroy him. One thing they didn't teach him was about how to deal with the loss of life. That was something they just couldn't pound into his head.

"After his failure he escaped and began traveling the world as a warrior. He tried and failed to mend with society. But they had damaged him good. He no longer could work alongside them. They destroyed his social skills, his understanding of right and wrong, and even managed to make it to where he didn't understand simply living. So he left. He went back to the only world he knew. He went back to being a killer. When a war appeared he went there. For him it was always about having a purpose. You take the war out of a warrior and then they have nothing left. He didn't know what to do. When the last war came in he joined up and fought for the Council."

"He was amazing with his sword. He cleaved hundreds of men in a single swing. Whether they were enemies or allies, they were all things for him to use as he saw fit. The war brought out a side of him that he was trying to contain and defeat, but it was proving rather hard. The side of him that he wanted to destroy was his unemotional side, the side that felt nothing at all when he fought. He wanted to feel something, but he couldn't. That was why he wanted to change. It took time, but eventually he changed. A lady who radiated beauty like no other came into his life. She was a doctor. She loved him because of what he was trying to do. He always answered questions the way we would. We talk about how we want to end the war. He wanted to end so he could go on to the next one. She never understood that about him."

He could still see that woman in his minds' eye. She was radiant. While Naruto had once spoke of another in his life from where he came from, this woman had begun to mend the damage to his heart. Had she lived, he might have stayed with her. No one knew him as well as she did at the time. Fate was truly a cruel mistress.

"She was able to make him feel something. I admit that I loved her as well. Cana, if I hadn't met your mother, she might have been your mother. She radiated beauty like no other, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But for Naruto she radiated it. She was aware of it, but didn't use it for anything. She neither charmed men nor did she try to get her way with her beauty. She was specially created by God it would seem. She was able to slowly pull him from his shell. Her only curse was that she was a doctor and healed anyone coming to her for aid. As a result, she was deemed a traitor and both sides sought to end her."

"Fate wasn't kind to her. Both sides saw her as a threat and moved to end her. Naruto and I fought for her, but he did most of the fighting. He showed strength I hadn't seen before and fought with everyone to keep her alive. But it wasn't enough. Naruto had tried to save her, but he couldn't. He ended the war that day. With nowhere else to go, he simply started doing dangerous jobs again. I asked him what the point in doing it was. He said he didn't know. He told me he didn't want to feel pain anymore. He wanted to die. But he couldn't bring himself to end his own life. It was a crime. They had ground that in his head. Go down swinging."

The guild was silent until Gray said, "So what was the Fouled Magic War all about? So Naruto fought in a war. We've all seen battle and lost people. It still doesn't excuse what he did."

Makarov began tracing the rim of his mug. "It was one of the bloodiest wars we've seen yet," he answered quietly. "It was the bloodiest because of their tactics that were used during it. Some people still have nightmares about it. Those that fought in the war ended up…"

"I don't think they need to know about it." Gildarts cut him off. His gaze swept back to Gray. The ice mage seemed to stare him down in a challenging sense. Why was Gray being so uptight about this?

Makarov went back to drinking. He kept his head down as if he were seeing it again. "Fine… But if things get out of hand I'll speak again. Something's should remained buried, but right now we might as well dig up old skeletons if need be.

Gildarts said nothing. He seemed more focused on Gray, like he was examining a foreign bug. "But you don't get it, do you Gray? Naruto didn't just suffer once. He suffered dozens of times. And not something small, like losing his house or not paying a bill on time. He really suffered. He lost his family. They were murdered right in front of him. He lost his friends. Anyone that ever got close to him back then, died in front of him. He fought to save them, but he wasn't..." The mage stopped and calmed his breathing. Everyone seemed worried now. "Everytime he fought for the sake of another, they died. Before long he thought he was a failure. Can you imagine what it was like for him? To have your goal within arms' reach and then have it yanked away?! And not just once, but everytime he made a friend. Imagine right now if Natsu died. The killer was in front of you but got away. Then imagine losing Erza, or Jet, or Droy the next time he appeared. These people were dangled in front of him and when he was close enough to finally save them, he lost them forever. So no matter how tough he was, no matter how hard he fought, he was always failing! Can you imagine what that's like for him?"

No one dared to say anything. While Naruto might not have ever opened up to them and explained that little thing about himself, they felt a wave of pain for him. His actions towards Gajeel seemed trivial now. Erza could see it now. He saw Gajeel as a threat. To be scarred so badly that his wounds and instincts from fighting battle after battle even now was incredible. They all carried their own luggage around here. Everyone had suffered. But not like that. They had been threatened, beaten, lost loved ones, watched their towns get reduced to ash, but never had they just continuously lost things one after the other.

"He died… Out there on the battlefield when she died. I had never seen him cry before. But he cried then. He told me he wanted to feel something other than loneliness and emptiness. The war hadn't taken just his friends and family away from him… it took his humanity as well… He felt like he was a monster. He called himself a shadow surrounded by death." Gildarts suddenly looked very tired and frail. He'd seen his fair share of ghosts and done his evil deeds. But Naruto was different. "He believes his cursed to fail everyone. That's why he tries so hard to protect everyone. Seeing Gajeel join the guild must have made him feel like he failed to protect his family and put a great fear in him."

"I know I have no room to speak," Wendy said softly, "but if Naruto has been there for you all, why can't you just understand what he might have seen it as?"

"He mostly likely saw Gajeel as a spy. It wouldn't be the first time he'd dealt with one." Gildarts got a fresh mug of beer. It didn't taste good. Naruto wasn't here to enjoy it with him and this little moment left a sour taste in his mouth. "Naruto sees this guild as his family and one last shot to atone for failing to protect the people he called his family. You're all his family to him. He sees you all as that. To have you all ashamed of what he did makes him feel bad. He wanted nothing more than to protect you all. The destruction of the guild might have been a part of it, but that man joining our guild after what he did to Levi must have been the real thing. He wouldn't stand for that. He probably wouldn't trust you as far as he can throw you."

"But that doesn't make what he did right." Erza argued.

"Erza, give a rest." Mirajane continued to wipe the cup she was holding. "You remember how he was when you joined. He was sad and alone. Back when I was fighting you all the time, he was so cold and unforgiving. His mind was set on something else. All the jobs he ever did before…" She stopped herself and closed her eyes. "All the jobs he's ever done until two years ago were simply cleaning jobs or things like finding stuff and helping pick fruits or things of that nature."

"So he told you." Gildarts made it a statement, not a question.

"He told me pieces. He told me about the girl that radiated beauty without equal. He never called her by name. But when he spoke about her, he made it seem like mentioning her name was a sacred thing and not to be mentioned. He told me how she died and what she said to him. He was called something back then because of how he was. He didn't feel things. Emotions passed right through him. She told him to be Human, and then he might not feel alone or empty any longer."

"Ghost," he said quietly. "They called him Ghost back then. The man who was the ultimate warrior. For him to tell you that, means that you've grown closer."

"We broke up. He told me that one year before he ended the relationship." She sat the cup down. Elfman looked away. "I stand by Naruto in his actions, though, I do not hate you for what you did, Gajeel. I will forgive, but not forget. As all of you should. Naruto has been nothing but a kind and gentle friend and comrade to us all. Like Gildarts, I made a promise to him to change him so he felt like he wasn't alone and so he felt like he was human again. I won't see that destroyed. I kept my mouth shut about this, but I think you should all go apologize to him."

"I agree," Cana whispered. Gildarts gave his daughter a warm smile. "Naruto is a friend to us all. If you all reject him, then you will be rejecting us. I don't approve of what he did, but I understand why he did it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find him and get drunk with him. Papa, you wanna come along?"

"Sure." He paid for his tab and left. The members all watched them go.

The guild was stunned into silence. Lucy walked out of the guild and found the nearest tree to sit under and think. She didn't hate Naruto. But she didn't know him like the others did. She only saw him as a prankster and a goofball. The real him must have been scary.

(-)

The knocking on the door was slowly becoming annoying after the eight minute mark.

No sooner had Naruto returned home had he started drinking. It was impossible for him to get drunk off the normal kind of alcohol. He had to use the magically enhanced stuff or he was basically drinking water. While normally he might have enjoyed it, he really did want to get drunk and just forget about the way the guild members had been treating him. Their looks were close enough to that of Konoha's citizens' back during and before the war when he was liked. People feared him for how close he had gotten to Kurama and that he let him out. It had really just been one big mess.

Finally deciding to open the door, he got up and wobbled for it. It took two tries before he got the handle. He had a triumphant smile that he had accomplished that and that he was in fact getting drunk. Too bad he could actually tell that it was wearing off rapidly. If he didn't start back up soon he'd be legally sober.

Naruto pulled the door open and saw Gildarts and Cana staring standing there. Gildarts looked absolutely worried. Cana just looked nervous. They were dating and hadn't told Gildarts. Yeah. She had a reason to be nervous.

"Sup?"

"Have you been drinking?" Gildarts asked.

"Why yes I have. Thank you." He opened the door and pointed to the fridge. "Beers are in there. Help yourself."

Cana needed no invitation as she tore open the fridge and pulled out four of them. She shoved two of them into her fathers' chest and then sat down. The kits all came out to play. Kojoro yipped from her spot at the table. She wasn't drunk, or so Cana hoped. The small kit had a pretty good sense of smell. Probably even better than her two siblings. Naruto's beverage of choice was capable of intoxicating people just by scent alone. The other two kits quickly hopped up on to the table and demanded attention from the new arrivals.

Gildarts began petting Ikari while Cornelia jumped down into Cana's lap.

"Thanks for doing what I would have done. But you really do need to be a bit more discrete about it." Naruto rolled his eyes and began drinking his beer again. Cana blinked tears from her eyes. It stung just smelling it. How were the kits able to stand it? "So Kurama you finally got a girl. I'm impressed." Gildarts and Cana looked for the fox. They found him on top of the fridge looking buzzed. "What are you doing?"

"**This is going to be awesome!" **The Kyuubi crouched, wagged his tails and said, **"I'm going to jump from this spot to the table! Okay? Watch." **He jumped and undershot it. His head smacked against the table and he hit the floor laughing. **"I totally made it."**

Cana laughed. "You're drunk."

"**Are so!"**

"Wrong thing to say, but whatever."

Kurama eventually got back on the table and wobbled around before plopping down and handling his own beer. He just started chugging at that was about it. Naruto did the same, though he from time to time would cast a glance at Cana. Gildarts never seem to be aware of it.

"I talked to the others in the guild." Gildarts had to get it off his chest before the alcohol really started to kick in. He didn't need to make an ass of himself with this speech or anything before he got so intoxicated he could stand or speak right. "I'm not sure if they understand your situation, but I told them about the war we fought in. Told them you were a mercenary before that." The blond arched a brow but shrugged it off. Good cover-up as far as he was concerned. "I'm sure they don't get it… Well a few of them might. I told them a bit about your past. Like how you lost everyone you tried to protect."

"I didn't lose everyone," Naruto blurted. Cana chuckled. "I didn't. I didn't lose this idiot." He pointed with his chin towards Kurama. The small fox was hugging his beer while lying on his back and nursing it like a baby would a baby bottle. He looked quite content with it. "You shouldn't have told them about the war or anything. I don't really care how they feel about me. I'm always going to look after them."

Gildarts gave a shrug and leaned back in the chair. "So how come you broke up with Mira? Or did she break up with you?"

"I broke up with her. It happened after Lisanna died. I felt-"

"Lisanna's dead?" He cut him off. "How? When?"

"Two years ago. Almost three now, actually. Elfman, Mirajane, and Lisanna went to do a job and Elfman tried to use his magic on the beast. He lost control and she died. He killed her. But he wasn't at fault for it. He pushed too hard too fast and he paid for it." Naruto went silent. "I broke up with her after that. I felt like I failed. I could have been there. I _should _have been there."

"You can't beat yourself up for something like that. I imagine you were busy at the time."

Naruto nodded as he traced the rim of his bottle. "I could have been there. I stayed in the guild that day and helped Levi with a job. When we got back, we heard the news and then things went downhill. I beat up Elfman, thinking that he was responsible for her death. No one really judged me for it. I guess they all sort of blamed him. But when she died I started taking high-end jobs that put me away from the guild for long periods of time. We both escaped punishment, me more than him, actually."

"How's Natsu? I know they were close."

"He was wrecked by it," Cana answered quietly. "We all were. I hadn't experienced another death since mom died, so I was rather shaken up as well. I never thought children died just as easily as adults did. I still don't."

"No parent should ever have to bury their child. That is something that we don't like."

Kurama sat up nursing his empty bottle and grumbled something. Naruto gave him a long stare as if confused, and when the small fox swiped Naruto's beer, he said, **"How come you're not married yet?" **

Naruto blinked and sat back in his chair after fetching another beer. Cana blinked and began drinking a little faster. This was getting into hot territory now. Gildarts didn't notice and downed three more beers before Naruto said, "I have no idea. We love each dearly. That much I know. I'd ask her to marry me, but I'm a little worried she might reject me."

Cana gave him a flat look. "And why do you think _she'd _reject you?"

"Her father might not like it." A stupid grin was plastered on Naruto's face. "I got a secret I need to tell you, Gildarts. Cana, you might like this one as well." Naruto wobbled and fell, but was soon back on his and face to face with Gildarts like he was actually going to whisper this. "I'm fucking your daughter."

Cana started drinking her beer a lot faster. Gildarts and Naruto started laughing at his secret. Kurama was whipping himself and calling his girlfriend a stupid girl that didn't know anything. Clearly he was so drunk that he didn't understand that Cana was in fact in the room. Gildarts didn't seem to hear him though. Naruto was just laughing away and talking about much of a fine woman she was. When they stopped laughing, they had a minor stare down, and then her father jumped him.

They fought around the house with Gildarts screaming, "How could you date my daughter?" everyone so often.

Naruto had no reply as they bounced around the house pummeling each other and trying to get the edge over the other. The fight lasted two minutes and was ended by Cana when they broke the table and spilt her beer. Kurama was sticking the roof because when the table broke he went flying. He laughed and acted like a cat until one of the kits said that he hated them. Suddenly remembering that seemed to snap him out of his haze while Cana beat both men up and then threw her old man out the door.

Naruto followed and said, "I fucked your daughter," as he shut the door. Cana slapped him. "What?" He held his head and sighed. "Oh man, the alcohol is leaving my system. Stay in there! Daddy needs you."

"Really?" The card user rolled her eyes. Naruto hadn't been drunk in a while and probably forgot that even he suffered from hangovers, no matter how fast he could heal or remove the liquor from his system. When there was another knock at the door, the two opened it and found Gildarts just standing there with a goofy grin. "What do you want, dad?"

"I won't miss behave anymore, I promise."

It was at that moment that Naruto, "We're out of beer. How'd we run out?"

Cana sighed in frustration. That was a big no-no here in this house. Never run out of booze or hellfire would be rained down on the two of them. Of course there was a problem with the whole thing. The Guild Headquarters was the only place that sold Naruto's alcohol and he probably didn't want to go near them. So they had only choice.

"I'll get my purse."

(-)

Kurama was very buzzed. Naruto had a hard time walking all the same because he was buzzed as well. Kurama just was in that state of mind that he couldn't walk, so he rode on Naruto's shoulder. The three kits each rode with one of the three. Naruto had Kojoro, Cana had Cornelia, and Gildarts had Ikari. Gildarts and Cana weren't close to being buzzed and thus were talking about the relationship that Naruto and Cana had. For the most part, Gildarts was strangely for it. He did have some complaints. But when it was mentioned that Cornelia was Cana's kit, for lack of a better way of explaining it, he didn't seem to mind as much.

Let it be known that Gildarts was an overprotective father if any of his past actions spoke for it. When he learned that Cana was his child, he spent more time looking out for her and protecting her when he was in the guild. More than once Cana had encountered him following her on a job she'd do and yell at him for it. His excuse was always something stupid, but after a while he broke away from it. Makarov probably had something to do with it.

The guild came into view and Naruto began to get a little worried. Cana held his hand for reassurance. Even she was worried how they would take to having Naruto back in the building after learning what part of his life had been like. She shoved the doors open and the whole place went silent. Naruto seemed to sober up instantly when they looked at him. Kurama, however, didn't. He looked right at them and pointed while saying, **"The fuck is y'all looking at?!"**

Gildarts rolled his eyes and pushed Naruto in. Natsu saw Gildarts and grinned before his eyes danced back to Naruto's form. The blond didn't seem all that intimidating or fearful. He looked scared.

"Naruto," Erza's voice broke the quiet room. She stood before him tall and unforgiving. Cana and Gildarts bristled. The redhead's features softened. "Hit me?"

"Huh?"

"Hit me. I demand that you hit me for believing you to be a monster. I judged you when I should not have. I asked to be hit for judging you so poorly."

The buzzed state returned. Kurama, still buzzed, hunched down and pointed at her. **"Hit her! Hit the demon girl! Hit her! Hit her! Hit her! Come on! She wants it! She needs it! Hit the bitch!"**

The blond grabbed his tenants' muzzle and shut it. This didn't stop the chanting though. He just conveyed it into Naruto's head. He couldn't block that one. "Close your eyes and hold out your arms," he said tiredly.

She hadn't been specific on where to get hit or how hard. Seeing that she was doing as instructed, Naruto tightened his grip on his tenant, electing a high pitched scream of, **"No don't! Don't do this to me! No!"** just before he threw him into her chest. Erza fell back clutching the fox. The blow still hurt, but at least she got some sort of a reward for it.

"Don't let go of him for six hours. Failure to do so will result in another hit."

Kurama's screams were the last thing that Naruto heard as he whimpered, thrashed, and clawed at the redhead in his desperate attempts to escape her clutches. Naruto got to the bar with Cana and Gildarts where Mirajane had their drinks ready. It was then that the entire guild began to laugh and pat Naruto on the back like he'd done something great for them all. He was bombarded with words of praise and forgiveness for doubting him. Gildarts words had touched them and made them understand him a little more.

The kits jumped from their human transporters and started getting treats and attention from the other members. Makarov laughed and began chanting for a party. Naruto smiled and ruffled Natsu's hair when the teen said that he never doubted him. Gray had nothing to say. He paid for Naruto's drinks and then soon was naked on the floor passed out as everyone started drinking. Naruto's beverage of choice was intoxicating and ended up making everyone drunk. It was so powerful that the smell alone was enough to get people intoxicated if they had never drunk before in their life. The last thing that Naruto remembered before sleep took him was Erza missing her top and handing him something before he passed out.


End file.
